Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules; Associated Press via The Guardian, April 6, 2026

 Associated Press via The Guardian; Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules

Ruling, vacating lower court’s temporary block, applies to classrooms and libraries up to sixth grade 

"Iowa can enforce a law that restricts teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ topics with students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and bans some books in libraries and classrooms, an appellate court said on Monday.

The decision for now vacates a lower court judge’s temporary blocks on the law.

The measure was first approved by Republican majorities in the Iowa house and senate and the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, in 2023, which they said reinforced age-appropriate education in kindergarten through 12th grades. It has been a back-and-forth battle in the courts in the three years since lawsuits were filed by the Iowa State Education Association, major publishing houses and bestselling authors, as well as Iowa Safe Schools, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization."

Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education; Iowa Public Radio, March 20, 2026

 

Ben Kieffer, 

Samantha McIntosh

, Iowa Public Radio; Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education

"The use of artificial intelligence in school has become more common since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Today, a majority of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots for school work, according to the Pew Research Center. 

On this episode of River to River, two Iowa-based educators who are working together in advancing ethical and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence across K-12 education share their experiences. Iowa State University professor Evrim Baran is the project director of the Critical AI in Education Pathways Initiative, which launched a micro-credential course this month for educators. Chad Sussex founded the Winterset Community School District's AI task force, and has recently expanded into consulting for other school districts around the state.

Then we talk with Rebecca Winthrop, who coauthored a recent report that shares of the potential negative risks that generative AI poses to students, and what can be done to prevent them while maximizing the potential benefits of AI.

Guests:

• Evrim Baran, ISU professor of educational technology and human-computer interaction and Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair, College of Health and Human Sciences
• Chad Sussex, grades 7-12 assistant principal and AI task force leader, Winterset Community School District
• Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution"

Bill would bar students from using school IDs to check out public library books; Radio Iowa, February 5, 2026

  O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa; Bill would bar students from using school IDs to check out public library books

"Some agreements between public schools and local libraries would be blocked under a bill approved by Education Committee in the Iowa House.

Library bookmobiles would be barred from school property and the bill prohibits schools from letting students use school IDs to access books and other materials from public libraries. During a subcommittee hearing, Katherine Bogaards with a group called “Protect My Innocence” said the bill is needed to stop Iowa schools from going around a state law that bans school libraries from having books with sexually explicit content.

“It closes the loopholes and ensures schools remain accountable to parents, accountable to the taxpayer, transparent to the public, and compliant with the law,” she said.

Republican Representative Brooke Boden of Indianola said the bill reinforces the 2023 law she and other legislators passed after learning kids and teens were able to check out books with graphic sexual content from some school libraries. “Reading is so important, but we also don’t want our kids reading literature that they’re going to need counseling for for the rest of their lives either,” Boden said during last night’s House Education Committee meeting.

Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City is a former public school teacher who opposes this year’s bill, especially the ban on bookmobile visits to public schools. “Watching the bookmobile pull up at my local elementary school, there is no greater delight that I see on children’s faces, other than maybe running around a snow day,” Levin said. “It is incredible and it is powerful and I cannot think of a reason to take that away.”

Other critics say the bill would create barriers for students in schools that don’t have libraries or have limited book collections. Five of the Des Moines School District’s schools do not have libraries and about 12,000 middle and high school students use their school ID cards at Des Moines Public Libraries."

PEN America: Books bans doubled in 2023-2024 school year, most from Florida, Iowa; Florida Times-Union, September 24, 2024

  C. A. Bridges, Florida Times-Union; PEN America: Books bans doubled in 2023-2024 school year, most from Florida, Iowa

"In the 2022-2023 school year, Florida led the nation in the surge of book challenges and bans, according to free expression advocacy group PEN America. This year, the number of bans has more than doubled.

Research by the nonprofit organization found more than 10,000 instances of book bans across the country, with 8,000 of them from Florida and Iowa, according to preliminary findings released Monday at the start of Banned Books Week. This was largely due to new state laws, PEN America's Kasey Meehan and Sabrina Baêta said.

Florida's HB 1069, which went into effect July 2023, required that any book challenged for "sexual conduct" must be removed during the review process and empowered parents and guardians to challenge books without providing ways for parents or guardians to defend them. That led to a "significant rise in book bans" during the 2023-2024 school year, PEN America said."