Major publishers renew lawsuit against Iowa's school book ban
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Four major book publishers have officially joined a lawsuit against the state of Iowa, arguing a new law restricting certain books in school libraries violates students' constitutional rights.
Why it matters: The federal challenge could set a nationwide legal precedent and establish how far governments can go in restricting public school library books, according to The Authors Guild, a free speech advocacy group, and another plaintiff.
Driving the news: HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan Publishing Group announced earlier this year they would join the suit — and first appeared on a court filing Monday.
- Plaintiffs already included the publisher Penguin Random House, the state's teachers union and authors John Green, Malinda Lo, Jodi Picoult and Laurie Halse Anderson.
Flashback: In 2022, the Iowa Legislature passed sweeping education rules prohibiting books with "sex acts" inside public K-12 libraries, as well as gender identity and sexual orientation instruction.
- While a preliminary injunction initially blocked its enforcement, a federal appeals court overturned that in August.
- Two lawsuits have been filed against the law.
Between the lines: While Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird applauded the August decision, plaintiffs claimed a partial victory in the appeals court ruling, Christy Hickman, an attorney for the Iowa State Education Association, tells Axios.
- The court established that the state's library book restrictions are subject to First Amendment scrutiny, which they plan to focus on, Hickman says.
As a result, Monday's amended lawsuit narrowed plaintiffs' strategy. They argue that under the First Amendment, the state cannot restrict students' right to read, even if the government doesn't agree with an author's message.
- They also argue the law violates students' First Amendment rights by broadly banning books with "sex acts" without considering the whole book.
The other side: The Iowa attorney general's office did not return Axios' request for comment.
The big picture: Iowa and Florida were the states that took the most action to ban books last year — totaling around 8,000 motions between them, according to PEN America.
- The same large publishers have also sued Florida this year over its book bans.
What's next: The lawsuit now makes its way back through the district court, where plaintiffs plan to request a preliminary injunction once again to block enforcement, Hickman says.