A new proposed bill in Iowa could let parents sue schools if they do not comply with state laws that prohibit instruction or materials related to gender identity and sexuality.
On Tuesday, an Iowa Senate subcommittee advanced Senate File 335, a bill that could also punish schools for not following laws regarding stereotyping or scapegoating specific demographic groups. The bill combines the measures proposed in separate legislation discussed earlier in the session.
Prohibiting Certain Actions
The proposal explicitly highlights sections of the Iowa Code that prohibit school staff and contractors from advocating to act on "specific stereotyping and scapegoating toward others on the basis of demographic group membership or identity."
The bill's provisions would allow parents and guardians of children enrolled in a school district, as well as employees of those districts, to bring a civil action.
This would be against a school district that would prohibit the continued violation of state law and direct the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to revoke the license of the individuals who violated them, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
There is already a process in place in Iowa that allows parents and guardians to report schools and teachers that they find violating state laws. They would go through an appeals process through the Iowa Department of Education and other state entities.
However, some parents have argued that the old process was complex, adding that teachers and school districts still violate state laws while the process is ongoing. Some supporters of the proposed bill also noted that some appeals were ultimately resolved without the school districts or teachers being found in violation of state laws.
Controversy Regarding Trans Rights
The situation comes as several protesters were arrested on Monday at the Iowa State Capitol as they shouted, "trans rights are human rights." The groups gathered in the area as Republican lawmakers advanced a bill that aims to remove the state civil rights code of protections on gender identity, the Associated Press reported.
Over the past few years, there have been similar bills that lawmakers have floated around, but the bill this year passed two legislative challenges on Monday. This came as it received the support of Republican lawmakers who are on the state House Judiciary Committee.
Senate Republicans passed Senate File 418 out of a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday afternoon in a 2-1 vote. The ones who voted in favor of the bill were Sens. Jason Schultz and Dan Dawson, while the only ones who opposed it were Sen. Matt Blake, as per the Des Moines Register.
