Iowa parents could sue schools over 'obscene' books in Sen. Jake Chapman's bill
Parents could sue schools — and teachers and administrators could face criminal penalties — for distributing obscene material or “hardcore pornography” to students, under a bill Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman filed Thursday.
The bill does not enhance the criminal penalties for distributing obscene material or hardcore pornography to minors that already exist in Iowa law. But it would specify that those penalties apply to teachers and school administrators.
“It’s not changing it, it’s just specifying that yes, we’re specifically saying teachers, administrators you fall under this category too,” Chapman said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “You give hardcore pornography, you fall under this same penalty as anyone else.”
Chapman's proposal, Senate File 2198, has been highly anticipated since the Republican said last fall he was considering drafting legislation that could add felony charges for teachers who share so-called obscene material with students. Democrats have said Chapman’s comments are driving teachers to leave the state and some prominent Republicans have said they disagree with pursuing new criminal charges for teachers.
Chapman has been one of the most outspoken critics of certain controversial library books that some parents have challenged in several metro school districts, saying they include obscene images or descriptions.
The books often feature stories of Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ people. Many students and librarians say that students can be trusted to make decisions for themselves and that, in some cases, the material has proved critical to students' understanding of who they are.
Senate Democrats have strongly criticized Chapman’s comments. Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, who is opposing Chapman in this fall's election, said in a statement Thursday evening that the main problem in schools is the effect of Republican policies from the last few years.
"Iowa schools have been critically underfunded for six years — and it’s taken a toll," she said. "Threatening educators, demonizing them is making the teacher shortage even worse."
Bill would allow Iowa parents to take their concerns to court
Chapman said his main focus with the legislation is on giving parents an avenue to take their complaints to court rather than going through school districts' existing review processes. The bill would allow parents to sue school districts if they believe a teacher or administrator is violating the law.
“The best place to go to have an unbiased party is the judicial system — a judge and a jury,” he said.
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The bill would require school districts to designate an administrator to ensure no obscene material or hard-core pornography is present and available to students in school libraries. Administrators or teachers who distribute or require a student to read or view such material would face a serious misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine up to $2,560.
Iowa's current law on obscenity explicitly states that it doesn't prohibit "the use of appropriate material for educational purposes" in schools, libraries and educational programs. Chapman’s bill would specify that “appropriate material” does not include obscene material or hard-core pornography.
The bill would use the existing definition of “hardcore pornography” from Iowa code, which is material that depicts “patently offensive representations” of sexual acts and lacks, as a whole, literary, scientific, political or artistic value.
Chapman said districts that have allowed some of the controversial books to remain on the shelves parents asked for reviews are wrong about whether some of the scenes depicted in the books are pornographic.
“I strongly disagree with those school boards that are showing pornography,” Chapman said. “When you have sexually explicit images of oral sex, I believe that is pornography and it meets the definition.”
The bill would apply to public, charter and private schools.
As Republicans express concerns, Chapman says he’s hopeful for ‘a fair hearing’
Chapman’s comments about teachers have drawn universal condemnation from Democrats, but prominent Republicans have also criticized his remarks and the suggestion of charging teachers with felonies.
During his opening speech of the legislative session, Chapman described a "sinister agenda" and said some teachers are "disguising sexually obscene material as desired subject matter" in Iowa schools.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has also argued some books in school libraries are obscene, told Radio Iowa last month that she hoped Chapman misspoke in his speech. And Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said last week that Chapman’s original proposal to create felony penalties for teachers and other school employees who give so-called obscene books to students is off the table.
"I think charging anyone with felonies for these types of things I don't think is a good idea," Whitver said during a taping of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS.
Rep. Dustin Hite, R-New Sharon, who chairs the House Education Committee, has said he disagrees with Chapman’s comments about teachers and would not follow Chapman’s approach in the House.
“I support the effort to increase transparency in education and, in the Iowa House, we are continuing our work to give parents a greater voice in their child’s education,” Hite said in a statement. “However, I think there are better ways we can go about it.”
Chapman said he respects the legislative process and is hopeful his colleagues will consider his bill.
“I think it will get a fair hearing,” he said. “I think we’ll be able to have a good conversation about it and I’m optimistic and hopeful that common sense on something like this where we can empower parents to find injunctive relief makes sense to my colleagues.”
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Chapman has filed the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, who has also appeared at metro school board meetings in opposition to certain books. Zaun, who is responsible for determining whether the bill will receive a hearing at the subcommittee and committee level, told the Register Thursday that the bill presents a worthy conversation and that he plans to give it “a fair hearing.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have already begun advancing other measures aimed at increasing transparency, including Reynolds’ proposal that would require school libraries to publish a list of their materials online, began advancing this week. Another “parents’ bill of rights,” which outlines the requirement for schools to give consent before students are given access to “obscene material,” passed the Senate Education Committee unanimously on Thursday.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.