Senate Republicans advance bill limiting gender identity curriculum in Iowa schools

Iowa schools would need to obtain written consent from a student's parent or guardian to provide instruction relating to gender identity in elementary and early middle school under a bill that advanced through a Senate subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

Senate File 167 would allow schools to provide instruction relating to gender identity to students in grades one through six only if they receive such permission. Kindergarten class curriculum "shall not include instruction relating to gender identity," according to the bill.

...Matty Tate-Smith, public affairs coordinator with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said the bill discriminates against transgender and gender nonconforming students "by effectively denying them their existence in schools."

"By educating our youth, we can build empathy. By building empathy, we can prevent sexual violence," Tate-Smith said.

Read the full article from The Des Moines Register by clicking here.