Iowa, among the nation's top book-ban states, set to finalize school rules
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Iowa recorded the country's second-highest number of book ban instances in the last school year per a new report by PEN America, a literacy nonprofit that advocates for human rights.
Why it matters: The report comes as the Iowa State Board of Education could as early as Wednesday review the final rules for a state book ban law that will be used to guide district decisions.
- Legal challenges have delayed that guidance and caused widespread confusion about what books are allowed, the DSM Register reports.
Catch up quick: Iowa's law, passed last year, requires districts to remove most books that depict sex acts. It also prohibits discussion and instruction through sixth grade about gender identity and sexual orientation.
- A federal appeals court in August lifted an injunction and allowed the law to go into effect, even though many districts had begun pulling books before the ruling.
Despite that, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Iowa are continuing to try to block the law in court.
- Major publishers are also suing the state in a separate case, alleging the law violates students' constitutional rights.
The big picture: There were more than 10,000 book bans across the U.S. during the 2023-2024 school year — a jump from 3,362 recorded in the previous year.
- About 4,600 were recorded in Florida and nearly 3,700 in Iowa, according to the nonprofit. That's even though Florida's population is roughly seven times larger.
How it works: The numbers refer to actions taken, not individual books banned.
Context: Book bans largely target stories about people of color and LGBTQ+ communities, according to the nonprofit.
- Stories by and about women and girls, along with those that include depictions of rape or sexual abuse are also increasingly affected.
Zoom in: Nevada and Clear Creek-Amana public school districts had the most banned book actions in Iowa, with more than 225.
- The highest numbers in the metro were at Bondurant-Farrar (88), Dallas Center-Grimes (73) and Urbandale (71).
- Des Moines Public Schools, the state's largest district, has banned none, spokesperson Phil Roeder tells Axios.
The intrigue: The top three ban targets in Iowa were books that contain sexual content including "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult (76); "Looking for Alaska" by John Green (76); and "Sold" by Patricia McCormick (62).
- Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," George Orwell's "1984" and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" are also banned in some districts.
What's next: Wednesday's State Board of Education meeting starts at 9am and can be viewed remotely.
- After a public comment period, the board will consider the final rules at its January meeting, per the Register.