Federal judges allow Iowa book ban to take effect this school year

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa can enforce a book ban this school year following a federal appeals court ruling. The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled the ban can take effect as a lawsuit seeking to overturn it plays out. The ruling upends a district judge’s December decision to temporarily halt key parts of the law, which bans books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms. Teachers are also forbidden from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with younger students. The ban had resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa schools before it was temporarily blocked.