DES MOINES, Iowa — Earlier this year, the Iowa legislature passed Senate File 496.
Known as the parental rights bill or the "book ban" bill, the legislation requires that all books depicting sex acts be removed from school libraries.
While the bill has been sparking conversation for months now, the legislation will officially go into effect July 1.
"I think traditionally, Americans have agreed on the premise of age appropriateness: we have ratings for movies, we have ratings for video games, we have explicit warnings for music and internet access, and kids don’t have unfettered access to these things in schools, so books are no different," said Samantha Fett of Moms for Liberty Warren County.
Opponents of the legislation believe the law will disproportionately harm LGBTQ+ students.
“Our organization, as well as many of our students, would reject the premise that the far right has put forward that these books are sexually explicit," said Damian Thompson, director of public policy and communication for Iowa Safe Schools. "The fact of the matter is, in states that have implemented similar bans, if not verbatim bans, the vast majority of books that are banned feature LGBTQ protagonists and LGBTQ themes."
One major question about the law still remains: how will parents ensure that these books are being taken out of the schools?
“It is really up to the school to make it a priority, however they would like, to find out what books are in their school library or educational materials that would break the law," Fett said.
Thompson encourages community members to give feedback about how the policy is implemented.
“I would ensure that they are receiving feedback from the community at large, that they are being transparent about implementing these policies, and also making sure that our most important population when it comes to schools, our student’s voices are heard as well," Thompson said.
In a statement, the Iowa Department of Education told Local 5, "The Iowa Department of Education will not be providing additional guidance regarding Senate File 496. We recommend schools and municipalities consult with their legal counsel if they have questions about the new law."
Penalizations for this law will not go into effect until January 2024. However, books will be expected to be taken out of the schools by July 1.