We are tracking 14 anti-trans bills in Iowa in 2025. The legislation impacts 2 categories:
EDUCATION
PERFORMANCE
A public institution of higher education, or can you employee, appointee, or committee acting on his behalf, shall not require [...] faculty of the institution to apply or participate in diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory practices or include diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory-related content in any course as a condition of approval, designation, or listing as part of any academic degree program, including general education; major, minor, or certificate requirements;
An Act prohibiting school districts and charter schools from taking disciplinary action against employees, contractors, or students for the use of legal names, or use of student name, as listed in school, registration, forms or records, or for the failure to use personal pronouns in official communications, and providing civil penalties.
The world language instruction shall not alter the world language to incorporate gender-neutral language if the world language being offered and taught utilizes a grammatical gender system.
A state entity shall not expend any moneys appropriated by the General Assembly [...] to: a. Establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office. b. Contract, employ, engage, or hire an individual to serve as a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer.
"Drag show" means a performance in which all of the following apply: a. The main aspect of the performance is a performer who exhibits a gender identity that is different than the performer’s gender assigned at birth through the use of clothing, makeup, accessories, or other gender signifiers. b. The performer sings, lip-syncs, dances, reads, or otherwise performs before an audience for entertainment, whether or not performed for payment.
Current law defines “grooming behavior” to mean any behavior which, in light of all relevant circumstances, constitutes actions to entice or entrap a student or students with the intent to make such student or students engage in a sex act. The bill modifies “grooming behavior” to mean the process of building trust and emotional connections with a student with the intent to exploit such student.
The board shall establish a policy that ensures that public institutions of higher education odo not require or constrain students to enroll in a diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory-related course, in order to satisfy the requirements of any academic degree program.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion office prohibited. A private institution of higher education shall not [...] Establish, sustain, support, or staff of diversity, equity, and inclusion office.
Prohibits public institutions of higher education for establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.
An Act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in grades seven through twelve.
"Diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory-related content" means content that does one or more of the following: a. Relates any of the following topics to contemporary American society: [...] allyship, [...] race- or gender-based diversity, race- or gender-based equity, or race- or gender-based inclusion.
The bill prohibits school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from establishing or expending money to establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office. It also prohibits hiring or assigning an employee of the school, or contracting with a third party, to perform the duties of a diversity, equity, or inclusion office.
Prohibition on disciplinary action — use of legal names or names of record — failure to use personal pronouns. The board of directors of each school district shall not take any disciplinary action against an employee of the school district, a contractor hired by the school district, or a student [...] for addressing other employees, contractors, or students using the employee’s, contractor’s, or student’s legal name. [...] for addressing other students using the student’s name as it is listed in the school district’s registration forms or records. [...] for failing to disclose or use any personal pronouns in the greeting or signature block of any form of official communication, including letters, forms, notes, or electronic mail.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion" includes all of the following: [...] Any effort to promote or promulgate trainings, programming, or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. [...] Any effort to promote, as the official position of the school district, a particular, widely contested opinion referencing [...] allyship, transgender ideology, [...] social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, [...] or any related formulation of these concepts.