As society turns to a new chapter, Iowa turns away from a proposed ban. This was a ban prompted by Senate File 496. This ban had many outcomes, including a limit on identity expression and a ban of books within schools. This ban was recently put on pause.

This ban on literature and limit on identity access began in October of 2023 and was brought to a halt in early January 2024. According to an article from Little Village on Jan. 8, school districts are “returning the books it removed from school libraries because of a book ban in the sweeping education bill pushed through the Iowa Legislature.” 

AHS senior Adelynn Welsh is an avid reader and felt “very unsafe” in regards to Senate File 496 flowing through. Welsh believes that “books are a form of art,” and that the break in book banning is good. “Books more than often have something to teach,” said Welsh. “There are things that are dangerous to children, and books are not one of them.” Many students at AHS agree with this statement.

Welsh furthered to comment on the section of the bill that flowed through. This section requires educators to report identity changes within the school and classroom setting to parents. “It’s basically telling someone they can’t exist and be themselves,” said Welsh. Welsh believes that “having all these different kinds of people is a beautiful thing” and that stopping students from expressing themselves within a school will result negatively for the students.

Junior Nissa Molgaard reflected on the identity restrictions that arose with the passing of part of Senate File 496. “I think that this will negatively impact students who are already in a bad situation at home, especially if they have a different identity at school.” Molgaard continued on to state, “I unfortunately don’t think that lawmakers had this in mind when making the law.”

Although warned that this bill could “force vulnerable trans and nonbinary students to come out to their families before they are ready, or hide their identities from teachers and school counselors they trust,” according to the Little Village article, it was decided that students must get written consent from their parents before any identity alterations within the school.

For additional information read this previous story.
https://ahsneedle.com/38548/showcase/story-time/