Top publisher, authors sue Iowa over school library book ban law
Penguin Random House, the Iowa State Education Association and some bestselling authors are suing the state of Iowa over a law that bans books with sexual content from public school libraries, arguing the law violates First Amendment free speech rights.
The publishing giant filed the lawsuit in federal court on Thursday, naming Iowa State Board of Education President John Robbins, Iowa State Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow, and a number of local school districts and officials as defendants.
Bestselling authors including John Green, Jodi Picoult and Malinda Lo are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. An anonymous high school student and their parent, along with three teachers also joined the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that the restrictions on books imposed by Senate File 496 are overbroad and an unconstitutional restriction on speech and the right to receive information.
The law, passed by Republican lawmakers this year and signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, prohibits books that include descriptions or depictions of any of a list of defined sex acts from public school libraries.
The law includes several other provisions, including a ban on teaching about gender and sexuality before seventh grade, a requirement that schools inform parents if a student asks to be referred to by a different name or set of gender pronouns, and other requirements intended to expand transparency at public schools.
It is the second lawsuit against the law filed this week. Iowa Safe Schools, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, filed a separate lawsuit challenging the law on Tuesday.
What does the lawsuit against Iowa's book ban argue?
The new lawsuit seeks to strike down only the portion of the law that restricts books in school libraries, while the Iowa Safe Schools lawsuit seeks to strike down the entire law.
The lawsuit argues the “age-appropriate” prohibition on descriptions or depictions of sex acts goes beyond prohibiting obscene or pornographic books, saying it is an overbroad prohibition that violates students’ First Amendment right to receive information.
“Government authorities cannot violate the First Amendment right to free speech by pretending that school grounds are constitutional no-fly zones,” said Dan Novack, vice president and associate general counsel at Penguin Random House.
Penguin Random House has been involved in litigation over book banning legislation in other states, including a lawsuit against a school district in Florida over removal of library books.
What do Republican lawmakers say?
Iowa Republican lawmakers have defended the law as a measure to prohibit pornographic books from public schools. But in implementing the law, some school districts have removed classic books such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five.”
“The sexualization of children in schools does not have a place in Iowa,” Republican Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said in a statement. “This is a responsible and reasonable law that I believe all Iowans could get behind if the far left and the media would stop playing politics and accurately represent what is actually in the law."
A spokesperson for Reynolds pointed to an earlier statement in response to the ACLU lawsuit against the law, in which she said the law’s goals “shouldn’t be controversial.”
“The real (controversy) is that it exists in elementary schools,” she said. ”Books with graphic depictions of sex acts have absolutely no place in our schools.”
The Iowa Board of Education has proposed rules for implementing the law, though school officials have said they do not clear up all the ambiguities and confusion school districts are facing.
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