Trans Legislation Tracker

Iowa

We are tracking 14 anti-trans bills in Iowa in 2025. The legislation impacts 2 categories:

EDUCATION

PERFORMANCE

IA HF269

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting certain requirements for students and faculty at regents institutions relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory and including applicability provisions.(Formerly HSB 53.)

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;

IA HF80

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting school districts and charter schools from taking disciplinary action against employees, contractors, or students for the use of legal names, the use of student names as listed in school registration forms or records, or for the failure to use personal pronouns in official communications, and providing civil penalties.

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.

IA HF88

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to private instruction, world language instruction, dual enrollment, and the tuition and textbook tax credit, and including effective date, applicability, and retroactive applicability provisions.

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.

IA HSB155

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting state entities from expending moneys to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or to hire individuals to serve as diversity, equity, and inclusion officers, creating a private cause of action, and including effective date provisions.

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.

IA HSB158

PERFORMANCE
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act relating to minors present at drag shows, and providing penalties.

"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.

IA HSB46

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act relating to mandatory reporting to the board of educational examiners of licensed school employees who engage in grooming behavior toward students.(See HF 167.)

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.

IA HSB53

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting certain requirements for students and faculty at regents institutions relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory and including applicability provisions.(See HF 269.)

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.

IA HSB60

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting private institutions of higher education that participate in the Iowa tuition grant program from establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.

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.

IA HSB61

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting community colleges from establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and engaging in certain other activities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prohibits public institutions of higher education for establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.

IA HSB84

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for 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.

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.

IA SF282

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting certain requirements for students and faculty at regents institutions relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory and including applicability provisions.

"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.

IA SF335

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to trainings and curricula provided by school districts and prohibited sexual orientation and gender identity instruction, and implementing prohibitions related to the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of institutions of higher learning governed by the state board of regents, community colleges, and public schools.

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.

IA SF8

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act prohibiting school districts and charter schools from taking disciplinary action against employees, contractors, or students for the use of legal names, the use of student names as listed in school registration forms or records, or for the failure to use personal pronouns in official communications, and providing civil penalties.

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.

IA SSB1150

EDUCATION
INTRODUCED

A bill for an act restricting county and city diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

"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.