Rights Rebuttals

Senate File 496 and House File 2319 have come to conflict in Iowa.

March 12, 2024

AHS student reads Iowa Capital Dispatch article on House File 2319. The article was posted on Feb. 5 of 2024, and has displayed the impact of the proposed law to Iowa.

Senate File 496 has created many conflicts within Iowa. One conflict which has been created was due to the introduction of House File 2319.

House File 2319, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch, forbids those within a school district (students and staff) from using any alterations from the student’s legal name and pronouns. This has caused many issues within school districts. One of the issues created is with Senate File 496. With Senate File 496, students can go by preferred names and pronouns, as long as guardian consent is given. However, with this new File, students and staff will be reprimanded for using anything that is not on a student’s legal documents.

Senior Addie Welsh feels that House File 2319 is going to “negatively affect” Iowa. Welsh said “I don’t entirely go by my full legal name. My full name is Adelynn but I go by Addie.” Furthermore, Welsh believes that the contradictory mandates between Senate File 496 and House File 2319 are “just contradicting what was said,” and that this law would be “putting these kids in danger.”

“

It would be putting these kids in danger.

— Addie Welsh

The implementation of House File 2319 is “a solution in search of a problem” according to Melissa Peterson of the Iowa Education Association in an article from The Iowa Torch. This article discusses the argument, how the conflicts between both files and how people are “concerned about the conflict.”

This conflict is concerning to people within AHS as well. Art educator Elizabeth Herrick-Williams said that it could cause “rifts between students and teachers.” This was furthered by her stating “The idea of it not only targeting nonbinary and trans kids, but targeting all the kids is an additional layer that’ll cause conflict.” The conflicts between the files are sad to Iowa students because “it’s hard enough being young,” and “trying to figure out your identity and blend in with your community is hard on its own and having to change who you are the minute you step into a school is sad,” Herrick-Williams said.

For additional information read this previous story.

https://ahsneedle.com/39371/showcase/broad-book-bans-takes-a-break/ ‎

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About the Contributor

Alix Nath, AHS Needle Editor

Alix Nath is a junior editor for the senior magazine and AHS Needle who likes to “dabble in a little bit of everything”, including The Javelin. Nath credits their brother Felix Nath, a 2022 AHS graduate, as the biggest inspiration for why they joined the journalism program. Nath’s proudest journalism accomplishment is their work on the senior magazine during their sophomore year. They made several writing contributions, major edits that aided the production of the magazine, and felt “really proud of how [the senior magazine] ended up because of the effort everyone put into it.” Nath’s journalism work strives to capture the “things you wouldn’t normally see,” shining extra light on the behind-the-scene processes of well-known events. Their tendency to dabble goes further than journalism. Nath is an active participant in AHS theatre - usually working as crew or tech, - speech and debate, concert band, marching band as a member of the color guard, and QSA. They draw happiness from school activities as well as their three cats and two dogs. A quote that would describe Nath and their passions best is, “I’m not always the best at things, but I try my best at things.” By J. Molina

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