Overview
- Iowa can enforce Senate File 496 again after a three-judge Eighth Circuit panel on Monday vacated the preliminary injunction and sent the case back to the district court.
- The law bars K–12 school libraries from carrying books that depict specific sex acts and restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade.
- The appeals court said the district judge used a flawed reading of the statute by isolating two words to broaden its scope, undercutting earlier limits on terms like “program” and “promotion.”
- The panel’s order overrides prior district blocks, including a March freeze on the book-ban provision and a May ruling that had narrowed how the K–6 instruction limits could apply.
- State officials praised the ruling as a win for parents, while Penguin Random House said it was disappointed and is weighing options, in a case that mirrors broader legal fights over similar laws nationwide.