Overview

• U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher upheld Iowa's ban on mandatory K-6 instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation while blocking prohibitions on nonmandatory programs and promotions.
• Students in grades K-6 must be allowed to join and advertise Gender Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and similar groups, ensuring First Amendment protections.
• Neutral references to LGBTQ topics, such as books with diverse characters where such identities are not the focus, are permitted under the law.
• The ruling maintains that teachers cannot provide mandatory lessons offering detailed explanations or normative views on gender identity or sexual orientation.
• Iowa is appealing a separate March ruling that blocked the law's ban on school library books depicting sex acts to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.