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SF8 • 2026

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.

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.

Education Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
GREEN
Last action
2025-06-16
Official status
Referred to Education. S.J. 1057 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

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.

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.

What This Bill Does

  • 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.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-16 Iowa Legislature

    Referred to Education. S.J. 1057 .

  2. 2025-02-27 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report, recommending passage. S.J. 383 .

  3. 2025-02-25 Iowa Legislature

    Placed on calendar.

  4. 2025-01-30 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  5. 2025-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 01/30/2025 11:00AM Room 315.

  6. 2025-01-27 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Green, Donahue, and Pike. S.J. 142 .

  7. 2025-01-13 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Education. S.J. 36 .

Official Summary Text

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.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

8

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

8

BY

GREEN

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

prohibiting

school

districts

and

charter

schools

from

1

taking

disciplinary

action

against

employees,

contractors,

2

or

students

for

the

use

of

legal

names,

the

use

of

student

3

names

as

listed

in

school

registration

forms

or

records,

4

or

for

the

failure

to

use

personal

pronouns

in

official

5

communications,

and

providing

civil

penalties.

6

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

7

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8

Section

1.

Section

256E.7,

subsection

2,

Code

2025,

is

1

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

2

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

0r.

Be

subject

to

and

comply

with

the

3

requirements

of

section

279.87

relating

to

the

prohibition

4

on

disciplinary

action

for

the

use

of

legal

names,

the

use

5

of

student

names

as

listed

in

school

registration

forms

6

or

records,

and

for

the

failure

to

use

personal

pronouns

7

in

official

communications

in

the

same

manner

as

a

school

8

district.

9

Sec.

2.

NEW

SECTION

.

279.87

Prohibition

on

disciplinary

10

action

——

use

of

legal

names

or

names

of

record

——

failure

to

use

11

personal

pronouns.

12

1.

a.

The

board

of

directors

of

each

school

district

shall

13

not

take

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee

of

the

14

school

district,

a

contractor

hired

by

the

school

district,

15

or

a

student

enrolled

in

the

school

district

for

addressing

16

other

employees,

contractors,

or

students

using

the

employee’s,

17

contractor’s,

or

student’s

legal

name.

18

b.

The

board

of

directors

of

each

school

district

shall

19

not

take

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee

of

the

20

school

district,

a

contractor

hired

by

the

school

district,

or

21

a

student

enrolled

in

the

school

district

for

addressing

other

22

students

using

the

student’s

name

as

it

is

listed

in

the

school

23

district’s

registration

forms

or

records.

24

2.

The

board

of

directors

of

each

school

district

shall

not

25

take

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee

of

the

school

26

district,

a

contractor

hired

by

the

school

district,

or

a

27

student

enrolled

in

the

school

district

for

failing

to

disclose

28

or

use

any

personal

pronouns

in

the

greeting

or

signature

block

29

of

any

form

of

official

communication,

including

letters,

30

forms,

notes,

or

electronic

mail.

31

3.

An

employee

whose

employment

is

terminated

in

violation

32

of

this

section

may

enforce

this

section

through

a

civil

action

33

under

section

70A.29,

subsection

3.

34

4.

For

purposes

of

this

section,

“disciplinary

action”

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includes

termination

of

employment

or

the

contractual

1

relationship,

suspension

from

employment

or

the

contractual

2

relationship,

demotion,

expulsion

from

school,

suspension

from

3

school,

detention,

financial

penalties,

and

written

or

verbal

4

reprimands.

5

EXPLANATION

6

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

7

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

8

This

bill

prohibits

school

districts

and

charter

schools

9

from

taking

disciplinary

action

against

employees,

contractors,

10

or

students

for

the

use

of

legal

names,

the

use

of

student

11

names

as

listed

in

school

registration

forms

or

records,

12

or

for

the

failure

to

use

personal

pronouns

in

official

13

communications.

14

The

bill

prohibits

the

board

of

directors

of

school

15

districts

and

the

governing

boards

of

charter

schools

from

16

taking

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee,

contractor,

17

or

student

for

addressing

other

employees,

contractors,

or

18

students

using

the

employee’s,

contractor’s,

or

student’s

legal

19

name.

The

bill

also

prohibits

the

boards

of

directors

of

20

school

districts

and

the

governing

boards

of

charter

schools

21

from

taking

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee,

22

contractor,

or

student

for

addressing

other

students

using

the

23

student’s

name

as

it

is

listed

in

the

school’s

registration

24

forms

or

records.

25

The

bill

prohibits

the

board

of

directors

of

school

26

districts

and

the

governing

boards

of

charter

schools

from

27

taking

any

disciplinary

action

against

an

employee,

contractor,

28

or

student

for

failing

to

disclose

or

use

any

personal

pronouns

29

in

the

greeting

or

signature

block

of

any

form

of

official

30

communication.

31

The

bill

allows

an

employee

whose

employment

is

terminated

32

in

violation

of

these

provisions

to

enforce

the

provisions

33

through

a

civil

action

which

allows

the

aggrieved

employee

to

34

receive

reinstatement,

with

or

without

back

pay,

civil

damages

35

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8

in

an

amount

not

to

exceed

three

times

the

aggrieved

employee’s

1

annual

wages

and

benefits,

and

any

other

equitable

relief

the

2

court

deems

appropriate,

including

attorney

fees

and

costs.

3

Injunctive

relief

is

also

available.

4

The

bill

defines

“disciplinary

action”

to

include

5

termination

of

employment

or

the

contractual

relationship,

6

suspension

from

employment

or

the

contractual

relationship,

7

demotion,

expulsion

from

school,

suspension

from

school,

8

detention,

financial

penalties,

and

written

or

verbal

9

reprimands.

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