‘A SLIPPERY SLOPE’?
New law leads to removal of more than 1,000 books
Half of Iowans believe the state’s new book ban law – which has resulted in the removal of more than a thousand books from public schools – goes too far, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll finds, while a third view the law and subsequent removals as “about right.”
Thirteen percent believe “this does not go far enough,” and 3% aren’t sure.
In May 2023, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 496, a sweeping education law that bans nearly all books depicting sex acts from public schools, among other changes. The law exempts religious books.
The Iowa Poll asked respondents to give their opinion on “Iowa’s new law requiring schools to ban books depicting sex acts,” which “has resulted in the removal of more than 1,300 books from Iowa public schools.”
The Des Moines Register documented more than 1,300 book removals from public schools due to the law by mid-February, when the poll question was written.
The Register is now aware of about 1,820 books — 615 of which are unique titles — removed from schools since the law went into effect July 1.
A federal judge has since blocked the state from enforcing the book ban as two lawsuits work their way through the courts
The poll of 804 Iowa adults was conducted by Selzer & Co. Feb. 25-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Michelle Leaverton, of Urbandale, a poll respondent who agreed to a followup interview, described banning books as “absurd.”
The 51-year-old Democrat said depriving children of the ability to make choices about what they read and of perspectives they may see reflected in their own lives is damaging — including for her own children who identify as LGBTQ.
Leaverton said she is shocked by the lists of classic novels that have been removed from schools, such as “1984” and “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, and feels the law is further marginalizing LGBTQ and other underrepresented voices
Iowans with children under the age of 18 show more support for the law and book removals: 39% say this goes too far, 40% say this is about right, and 16% say this does not go far enough. Five percent of parents with children are not sure.
Independent voter Tracy Alberts of Cedar Rapids, 45, a poll respondent who agreed to a follow-up interview, feels the ban does not go far enough.
“I think parents should be put in charge of what is in the school’s library and what is applicable for the grade level,” said the mother of three.
Outside of history, schools should allow books only on topics that a person can safely discuss in an office— meaning sexual content and politics do not have a place in schools, said Alberts, who works in human resources.
Views on book ban, removals divide by political party, gender
A large majority of Democrats (75%) and most independents (55%) view the book ban and removals as going too far.
The plurality of Republicans (44%) see this situation as about right. Almost a quarter of Republicans (23%) say this does not go far enough.
The poll also shows a large gap by gender: 60% of women feel the law and book removals have gone too far, while 41% of men feel that way.
Republican Steven Davies of Corning, 54, feels the ban is about right for his family, but he has mixed emotions about outright banning of books for other students.
“Do I think that certain books in school shouldn’t be in there?” Davies said. “Absolutely.”
He believes literature that’s sexual in nature should not be in schools and pointed to the LGBTQ memoir “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe. Iowa Republican lawmakers have targeted the visual novel, which traces the author’s journey with gender and sexuality through adolescence and adulthood, for its candid sexual images and scenes.
“I also acknowledge it is a slippery slope, because where does it end?” Davies said. “And who’s going to be the judge and jury of what gets banned?”
Iowa’s book ban law follows highprofile challenges over sexual content
High-profile attempts to restrict or remove books from schools popped up in the Des Moines metro and around the country in recent years as some residents challenged books that they felt were inappropriate for students. The divisive issue turned politically potent, and Iowa legislators took notice.
The Des Moines Register documented 99 challenges to 60 books from August 2020 to May 2023, before Reynolds signed the book ban law. Nearly 90 percent of Iowa school districts had no challenges in that time frame.
About three-quarters of challenges ended with retaining the book without restrictions.
About 76% of challenges that gave specific reasons were due to books’ sexual content, while about 26% cited profanity and 14% involved violence. (More than one reason was sometimes cited.)
The most-challenged books before the book ban passed were LGBTQ coming-of-age memoirs “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, alongside the semi-autobiographical novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie.
About 55% of challenges before the law passed were for books about people of color; about 47% of challenges were for books featuring LGBTQ people; and about 25% of challenges were for books about people who survived sexual violence.
Conservative activists lobby for legislation; after passage, critics file lawsuits
Conservative activists, some with ties to the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty, took their case to the Iowa Legislature in 2023 and called the existing district-level book challenge process too difficult, subjective, biased and unresponsive to their concerns about books they felt were inappropriate for schools.
The new law, which took effect in
July 2023, requires books in school libraries to be “age appropriate” and bans books depicting or describing sex acts. It also prohibits instruction or curriculum about gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade, which some school districts have interpreted to also include banning children’s books with LGBTQ themes.
The results have been inconsistent: Some districts stripped dozens of books from shelves in their efforts to comply with the law, while others removed zero in the absence of guidance from the state Department of Education. Many districts have never disclosed to the Register which books they removed, if any.
The Register documented more than 1,300 books that were removed under the law by the time of this Iowa Poll, including controversial LGBTQ memoirs, popular young adult books, classic novels and nonfiction books about historical events.
The number includes some books that have since been restored. The three most-banned books have been “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.
LGBTQ students and their families, authors whose books have been banned and advocacy groups filed two lawsuits against the state of Iowa over Senate File 496, saying the law is unconstitutional and amounts to censorship and discrimination against LGBTQ viewpoints.
Iowa’s book ban remains tied up in court
Judge Stephen Locher temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the book ban and disciplinary penalties for educators while the two lawsuits are pending in federal court. The decision did not require districts to restore the books they had removed.
Some districts have restored books — about 560 books in total, according to the Register’s tracking — while others have kept them off the shelves.
Supporters of Senate File 496 have said the law protects children from pornographic and age-inappropriate content and that books removed from schools are not “banned” because they’re still available in city libraries or bookstores and online.
Opponents have said book removals deprive students of enlightening stories about the diverse world around them while conflating literature with porn. They say librarians and parents should be trusted to decide what’s appropriate for students.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern and northern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_ . Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter .