Federal Judge Halts Enforcement of Iowa's School Book and Gender Identity Education Ban

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against an Iowa law that bans books depicting sex acts in libraries and restricts discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. The judge, Stephen Locher, stated that the law is overly broad and likely violates the First Amendment. The law, which had led to the removal of many books from school libraries, was criticized for its lack of distinction between different types of content and relationships, and for potentially violating every school district and teacher's practices since the beginning of the school year. However, the requirement for schools to notify parents if a child wishes to be identified by different names or pronouns remains in effect.