Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, signed Senate File 2231 into law Tuesday, enabling legal protection of religious expression within the state’s schools.
The bill was signed alongside a group of Turning Point USA staff and chapter members. The law aims specifically to protect religious “speech and expression” from being prohibited by school districts.
Superintendents are required to convey the guidance provided by the law to their districts.
The law establishes that school districts “shall not discriminate against or penalize a student enrolled in the school district for several purposes [of expression] that are listed and described.” The descriptions of certain protected forms of expression are found in section 279.89. These equate such actions with the other authorized actions that have already been approved.
One protected action is “engaging in religious, political, or ideological speech in the same time, place, and manner, and to the same extent, that other similarly situated students are authorized to engage in speech at school.”
“Expressing a religious, political, or ideological viewpoint in the same time, place, and manner, and to the same extent, that other similarly situated students are authorized to express views at school,” is another aspect of free speech protected.
Moreover, the law establishes the protection of “wearing clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display religious, political, or ideological messages or symbols in the same manner, and to the same extent, as the school district permits other students to wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display messages and symbols.”
