Iowa can now enforce all parts of SF 496 — commonly known as the “don’t say gay” bill because of its provisions prohibiting references to LGBTQ topics in K-6 schools, requiring written parental permission to use a student’s preferred pronouns or name if it is does not match the gender listed in school records, and […]
ACLU of Iowa
Posted inCommunity/News
Appeals court upholds injunction against Reynolds’ attempt to create state-level deportation system; ICE deports Des Moines high school student
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction stopping an attempt by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican leaders in the legislature to create a state-level deportation program in Iowa. SF 2340, passed with only Republican votes, made it a state crime for a person to be in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ACLU of Iowa warns five cities that their anti-drag ordinances are unconstitutional
The ACLU of Iowa has sent letters to city councils in five communities, asking councilmembers to update their city codes and remove language classifying performances by male and female impersonators as “adult entertainment” banned or restricted by local law. ACLU of Iowa staff attorney Shefali Aurora said during an online news conference on Wednesday that the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Foreseeing ‘irreparable harm,’ federal judge blocks most of Iowa’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law with preliminary injunction
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late on Thursday, blocking parts of the anti-LGBTQ education bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2023. SF 496 attracted nationwide attention for its school book ban provision, but it went well beyond that, making changes to state law to effectively erase almost any acknowledgment […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa atheist group sues Reynolds, Reynolds sues Des Moines Register over her withholding documents
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ use of executive privilege to withhold documents from the public and the media led to two lawsuits being filed in Polk County District Court on Friday. In one, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers (IAF) is suing the governor’s office over its withholding documents related to the decision to prevent the Iowa Satanic Temple […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Federal judge issues new injunction halting Iowa’s school book ban
The book ban signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2023 has once again been blocked by a federal judge. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing the law requiring schools to remove all books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act,” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Judge upholds state guidance to challenge ballots of potential noncitizens
A federal judge on Sunday upheld the Iowa Secretary of State’s guidance to challenge the ballots of more than 2,000 Iowans listed as potential noncitizens leading into the Nov. 5 election. The ACLU brought a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of naturalized citizens and the League of United Latin American Citizens. It sought to block Pate’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
All of the ‘Big 5’ publishers are now suing Iowa over its school book ban
All of the “Big 5” publishing houses are now suing Iowa to overturn the state’s school book ban signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2023. Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, MacMillan Publishing Group and Simon & Schuster have joined Penguin Random House as plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the book ban. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Legal challenge to Iowa’s near-total abortion ban withdrawn; pro-choice PAC to spend $250,000 in the state ahead of Election Day
Last week, the legal challenge to Iowa’s new near-total abortion ban ended. On Thursday, the ACLU of Iowa filed a petition in Polk County District Court asking Judge Jeffrey Farrell to dismiss the lawsuit it filed in July 2023 on behalf of the Emma Goldman Clinic, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) and its medical […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Appeals court lets SF 496, Iowa’s infamous book ban and ‘don’t say gay’ law, go into effect
When Iowa students return to school later this month, they may notice books, including important works of literature, have disappeared from library shelves, and younger students will find certain topics can no longer be discussed in their classrooms. That’s because on Friday, a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the preliminary […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Supreme Court rejects request for rehearing of its abortion decision, clearing the way for the state’s near-total ban to go into effect (Updated)
Update (Tuesday, July 23, 2024): Iowa’s new near-total abortion ban will go into effect on Monday, following the Iowa Supreme Court’s rejection of a rehearing request on its latest decision on reproductive rights. In an order issued Tuesday morning, Polk County District Court Judge Jerry Farrell wrote “the temporary injunction shall be deemed dissolved effective […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s near-total abortion ban remains blocked by injunction
The state’s near-total abortion ban will not go into effect until the Iowa Supreme Court acts on a petition for a rehearing on its decision to overturn a temporary injunction against the ban, a Polk County District Court judge informed the parties in the case on Friday afternoon. A divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-3 […]
