Iowa Code » Chapter 279 — DIRECTORS — POWERS AND DUTIES
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 279.80 (2026)

Sexual orientation and gender theory — prohibited instruction

✓ current as of July 2026
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1. As used in this section:

a. “Gender theory” means the concept that an individual may properly be described in terms of an internal sense of gender that is incongruent with the individual’s sex as either male or female. “Gender theory” includes the concept that an individual who experiences distress or discomfort with the individual’s sex should identify as and live consistent with the individual’s internal sense of gender, and that an individual can delay natural puberty and develop sex characteristics of the opposite sex through the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures.

b. “Sexual orientation” means the same as defined in section 216.2.

2. A school district shall not provide any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through grade six. 2023 Acts, ch 91, §16; 2025 Acts, ch 1, §28 Referred to in §256.11, 256E.7, 256F.4, 279.50 Section amended \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2024–2026 · leading case: GLBT Youth in IA Schs., etc. v. Kimberly Reynolds, 114 F.4th 660 (8th Cir. 2024).
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GLBT Youth in IA Schs., etc. v. Kimberly Reynolds, 114 F.4th 660 (8th Cir. 2024). · cites it 2× “Second, as of July 1, 2023, it imposed additional regulations pertaining to public school classrooms and curriculum by enacting Iowa Code § 279.80 and referring to it in Iowa Code § 256.”
Iowa Safe Schs. v. Kim Reynolds (8th Cir. 2026). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 279.80 (2) (“Instruction Section”).”
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