Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:

A bill for an act relating to education, including modifying provisions related to school district library programs and the educational program provided to students enrolled in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools.(See HF 597.)

Subcommittee members: Boden-CH, Cahill, Hora

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Time: 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Location: RM 304

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

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02-28-2023

Mandy Gilbert []

Thank you for protecting children as the increase in sexually graphic novels are being targeted to appeal to "young adults, " which are merely children in K12 education. It's unfortunate that many educators believe this is the only way to get children to read, is to provide explicit sexual abuse or pictures to spark interest in reading. Wonder how my generation and all the ones before mine, were able to develop reading skills and critical thinking without this new wave of young literature pushed by the American Library Association? Many students do not have proper grammar skills, can't decipher classic literature and these failures are excuses to drive an industry to publish comic style pictures and explicit sexual assault. Please move this bill forward to ensure age appropriate material is used in K12 in public, non public and charter schools.

02-28-2023

Amanda McClanahan []

Please vote YES on this bill. Another common sense bill for a world that appears to have none. If we are restricting school issued devices from sexually explicit material, then why are we allowing this into our public school libraries. Please pass this bill, thank you.

02-28-2023

Jennifer Briggs []

I am in full support of this bill HSB219 and would like to see this pass with ease. This is common sense stuff here, which used to be more common. Since its not, we now need laws to enforce common sense. Please, have some common sense. Pass the bill.

02-28-2023

Courtney Collier []

Please pass HSB 219. This legislation is necessary because apparently schools stopped using common sense and having boundaries for school books. Its beyond appalling that our schools are under current law the only place in Iowa where adults can give other peoples children sexually explicit and pornographic books. As attorney, Alan Ostergren said at the IDOE hearing on the book Gender Queer appeal: Will the infrastructure of public education in Iowa show any ability to reform itself? Is there going to be any ability to do that? Any sliver of anybody in authority, standing up saying, You know what, maybe we are going a little too far, maybe we are sexualizing children too much. Maybe we should listen to people and not just assume that because were credentialed, we know everything.

02-28-2023

Kendall Kurt []

How unfortunate that we need a bill like this, but it has become abundantly clear that schools are no longer providing the necessary boundaries that they one had regarding the materials in school libraries. Clearly, classrooms and school libraries should be free from the same prohibited content that schools already restrict on iPads, computers, and all forms of technology. This bill is the common sense guidance that is greatly needed for what is ageappropriate materials for minors in kindergarten through 12th grade.

02-28-2023

Curt Hancock [Proverbs 22:6 Schools Ministry]

It is good that this bill covers library and educational programs in preK12 public, accredited nonpublic, and charter schools. However, Sec.2.4 does not include United States history or US Civics but needs to. Our children need to be taught the actual founding of this nation. I suggest a required Civics course teaching the accurate full founding of this nation, without editing or deleting religious content, and teaching the Constitution and Declaration of Independence accurate unbiased original intent and not only judicial interpretation.Our schools must not promote and encourage sexual activity or teach our children to become sexually active, which is the natural outcome of providing them with material that describes or shows depiction of sex acts. And I would argue it should be criminal to encourage our Elementary or Middle School children to embrace homosexual activates such those taught in books such as All Boys Arent Blue (which is in the Mount Vernon Middle School online catalog as an eBook) and Gender Queer.

03-01-2023

Ricky Teed []

Vote Yes! I appreciate the part where it states that books that are age appropriate "does not include any material with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act". All I will add is that the books that are finding their way into our libraries are disturbing. Vote Yes for this bill.

03-01-2023

Rebecca Dunk []

Please support this Bill. School libraries should make books available that have educational value and support a childs intellectual development.Books that contain pornography, which is already defined by Iowa law, should not be available. Books like Assassination Classroom (a class of children shooting and killing their teacher) and Boy Toy (a child recounting the pleasure of having sex with his teacher when he was 12 years old) are two examples of the many books currently available in Iowa school libraries that have no educational value.This Bill has common sense guidance on what is age appropriate for children K12.

03-01-2023

Gretchen Cheak []

I am in support of this bill. Whether its striptease, burlesque, or drag, children should not be at sexuallycharged shows. Adults are supposed to protect the innocence of children and thats what this bill does.

03-01-2023

Pam Gronau []

Please move this bill forward! This should already be happening in our schools. Materials need to be age appropriate and there is no need to over sexualize our children. Thank you for listening to the parents concerns!

03-01-2023

Angel Hartman []

I support this bill! All school materials, including library books should be age appropriate! The new books being pushed on sex, lgbt, etc are discusting! No child should be subjected to literal porn in any school!!

03-01-2023

Oliver Bardwell [Iowans 4 Freedom]

Movies have ratings. The internet access in our schools has safe guards to protect our children from obscenity and pornography why shouldnt our school library.? No one is asking to Ban Books and this has nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community parents just want to have a common sense way to make access age appropriate. All Ive had to do is share the Moms for Liberty Look Book (which shows examples from the books in question and the number of these books in each school) with Iowans who are on the fence and they immediately think action needs to be taken. Please VOTE YES on this bill and protect the innocence of our children.

03-01-2023

J Scott []

In support of passing HSB 219 because what we have seen makes it evident such a law is needed to only allow age appropriate books in school libraries. Pornography and obscenities have no place in a childs hand. The school should not be a place children are getting these types of books. There have been many books in question over the past year and half, many will say they have educational content in them as well, but I say thats absurd. Children become confused and aware of things they are not ready for when looking at such images and reading about sexual acts. This can lead to many issues as they become adults. There are many other books that can teach about tragedy and diversity without pornography being exposed to minors. And many will say that parents can opt out. But that has proven to not work for most parents and their students. Just as a R rated movie is for 17 and older, and just if a man was to give pornography to a child he would be arrested, apparently there needs to be laws and boundaries in schools now to protect innocent childrens minds. Common sense says vote YES to HSB 219.

03-01-2023

Betsy Fickel []

A YES vote on this common sense bill. If people want access to this smut and filth, they should wait until adulthood. This has no place in schools of any level. Huge difference between teaching sex in a basic biological, physical context and the mental illnesses that are now permeating every corner of our society in general.

03-01-2023

Kathy Mingus []

Please vote yes to protect our childrens innocence. This should be common sense and I cant believe we are wasting tax payers money to even have to discuss this. Please do the right thing by our children.

03-01-2023

Rick Phillips [Protect My Innocence]

It is unconscionable that our State would ever permit this type of destructive instruction to our children, but here we are. Gender identity, equity, and inclusivity has been the sole cause of division in Iowa education. We used to have one mind and education was top notch until a little poison was permitted to poison the whole system. Allowing gender identity to persist is like allowing slavery. There is nothing life freeing about it. It is demeaning and leads to a life of mental anguish, emotional problems and a life of bondage. Is this what we want to do to minor children? Today, we can correct this most egregious error and set our posterity free from the insidious teaching of gender identity politics that has so divided our Iowa culture. Lets take a bold step and support HSB219.

03-01-2023

Geralyn Jones []

PLEASE VOTE YES! Please pass this bill! I never thought Id be fighting to define age appropriate content that is available for our youth in a public school library and classroom, but here we are. Children must have parameters set on the content they are exposed to. The question is, why do we have this obscene content available to them in the first place? Why are some people in favor of exposing minors and children to sexually explicit content? Get the obscenity out of our schools, please!

03-01-2023

Preben Lansman [Let the Parents Decide]

Please support this bill Any legislator opposed to this bill or administrator unsupportive of this bill should gladly and willingly go to a local school story time and read one of the books in question to an elementary class. Put your money where your mouth is.

03-01-2023

Erin H []

I support this bill. We need to protect our children. Graphic sexual content/ material has no business being introduced to minors. School should be a place where kids are safe from harmful material and content

03-01-2023

Becky Dunk []

Please support this Bill. It is beyond ridiculous that school libraries have books that contain and legitimize pornography and sexual abuse. Illustrations of sex in every possible way with multiple partners is not educational. Books about assassinating the class teacher is not educational. Books about a twelve year old being sexually assaulted by his teacher is not educational. Lets allow our children to enjoy the innocence of childhood.