I still remember seeing Senate File 80 when it was introduced in 2021. The bill would have required school districts to notify parents or guardians at least one week in advance if a student would be asked by a school employee or on a school communication to provide a preferred pronoun.
In addition, it would have required schools to provide the results of such a survey upon request from a parent or guardian.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Amy Sinclair, chair of the Senate Education Committee. I wondered if this was something really taking place in schools across Iowa.
Twenty months later there is no doubt that it is happening. Schools and/or teachers are asking kids for this information but they are not sharing it with parents.
That bill was assigned a subcommittee, but the meeting was never scheduled.
Only three organizations registered in support of the bill:
*The FAMiLY Leader
*Iowa Catholic Conference
*Homeschool Iowa
Here is the list of anti-parental rights groups that registered as opposed:
*Iowa State Education Association (Teachers’ union)
*Planned Parenthood
*Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault
*Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
*Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence
*Tanager Place
*Human Rights Campaign
*AFSCME Iowa Council 61
*ACLU
*Urban Education Network of Iowa
*The Hale Group
*Iowa Conference of United Methodist Church