Iowa can enforce its law that prohibits public school teachers from speaking about LGBTQ matters and using books with sexual and LGBTQ content, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The April 6 decision overturned a temporary block that had barred the state from enforcing its law, The Hill reports.
Applying to K-12 public schools, the law prohibits “any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation” and any book with descriptions or depictions of sexual acts. Another provision requires teachers and school staff to inform parents and guardians of any accommodations meant to support a student’s gender identify.
The law passed in May 2023 and was challenged in November 2023. In March 2025, a lower court blocked the law, ruling that the law was too broad and could lead to banning important books within literary, political, or scientific fields
But the three-judge panel from the 8th Circuit disagreed, arguing the challenge to the law was unlikely to prevail, and that the lower court’s injunction was improper.
“When the Plaintiffs elected to litigate the constitutionality” of the law, “they chose to carry the risk of having to show that unconstitutional applications substantially outweighed the constitutional applications.”
The case will return to the federal district court to rule in light of the appeals court’s decision.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, called the decision “a huge win for Iowa parents.”
“Parents should always know that school is a safe place for their children to learn,” Bird said, “not be concerned they are being indoctrinated with inappropriate sexual materials and philosophies. I am grateful that our law protecting children was upheld today.”
GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, backed by Republican majorities in the Iowa House and Senate, passed the law, which was in effect for a portion of the 2024-25 school year until the initial injunction occurred.
