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 […]
Iowa Safe Schools
Posted inCommunity/News
Project Rainbow of Iowa has a simple mission with a visible impact
It’s not surprising Project Rainbow of Iowa is getting the attention of local TV news outlets. After all, what the Des Moines-based nonprofit does is literally eye-catching. Project Rainbow delivers Progress Pride flags for people to fly in their yards throughout the month of June, as a statement of support for the LGBTQ community during […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I am not shameful’: Iowa Safe Schools, seven students sue the state over anti-LGBTQ law SF 496
On Tuesday, the ACLU of Iowa and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a nationwide civil rights organization dedicated to defending and advocating for LGBTQ people, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Des Moines challenging SF 496, the education bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May. “This is a federal civil […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Waterloo City Council repeals ban on conversion therapy passed in May, leaving LGBTQ locals ‘dumbfounded’
During its regular session on Monday night, the Waterloo City Council gave final approval to an amendment repealing the ban on conversion therapy the council enacted in May. The public first became aware of the council’s reversal during a special council meeting held on Aug. 14, for the sole purpose of taking a first vote […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Photos: Drag storytime reaches capacity at Des Moines’ downtown public library as Pride Month approaches
Iowa Safe Schools and Polk County supervisor Matt McCoy hosted an all-inclusive drag storytime at the Des Moines Central Library on Sunday, May 21. Storytellers included celebrity baker Andrew Fuller (Is It Cake?), as well as drag performers Vana B and Robin Graves. Supporters crowded the library entryway hoping to attend the event, but as […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Plants, pets, pandas, brews and boos: Halloween festivities for a cause in Des Moines
Back in the Iron Age, the holiday we now celebrate as Halloween was Samhain, a Celtic festival acknowledging the end of summer and marking the turning of the year. The themes of death and rebirth have persisted in our understanding, the notion of the thinning between worlds, the playing of tricks, the appearance of the […]
