Federal court OKs Iowa's "cruel" book ban law in stunning LGBTQ+ defeathttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/04/federal-court-oks-iowas-cruel-book-ban-law-in-stunning-lgbtq-defeat/ 🔗John Russell (7 April 2026)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that Iowa can enforce a 2023 law restricting classroom instruction on LGBTQ+ topics and access to certain books while legal challenges against the law proceed.
On Monday, the three-judge panel overturned injunctions previously issued by lower courts in two separate lawsuits challenging aspects of the Senate File 496, according to the Associated Press and The Des Moines Register.
Passed by the Iowa state legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2023, the law prohibits "any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation" in kindergarten through sixth grade. It also bans materials featuring "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act" from school libraries and classrooms — a provision which critics say is intended to ban books featuring LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
The law went into effect on July 1, 2023. The following November, the ACLU of Iowa and Lambda Legal sued the state on behalf of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Iowa Safe Schools and seven students and their families, challenging SF 496's classroom instruction ban.
...Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Nathan Maxwell called the ruling "a setback," but noted that "it is not the end of this fight."
"Iowa's SF 496 is a cruel and unconstitutional law that silences LGBTQ+ children, erases their existence from classrooms, and forces educators to expose vulnerable students to potential harm at home," Maxwell said in a statement. "We will continue to use every legal tool available to protect these young people. They deserve nothing less."
