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Freedom to Learn Foundation Proud to Join Coalition in Defense of Intellectual Freedom

By Rory Steele, Executive Director, Freedom to Learn Foundation

The Freedom to Learn Foundation (FTLF) is honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with a powerful coalition of literary and educational organizations in Penguin Random House v. Menke, challenging Iowa’s sweeping school book ban law, Senate File 496 (SF 496). 

On July 24, 2025, we signed a robust amicus brief alongside nine other organizations—including the Association of American Publishers, American Booksellers for Free Expression, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the Independent Book Publishers Association—urging reversal of this unconstitutional law.

Why This Case Demands Urgency

SF 496, signed into law in May 2023, broadly bans any book in K–12 school libraries that contains descriptions of sexual acts or references to gender identity or sexual orientation (for students through sixth grade). It has already triggered massive book removals—hundreds of titles by revered authors such as Toni Morrison, George Orwell, James Joyce, Margaret Atwood, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and Malinda Lo have been swept off shelves, regardless of context or educational merit.

In March 2025, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher reinstated a federal injunction blocking SF 496’s enforcement, declaring it “likely facially unconstitutional” and highlighting that it had removed books “not pornographic or obscene” from school libraries across Iowa. This is the second time Judge Locher has blocked the law—the first injunction was issued in December 2023, briefly reversed by the Eighth Circuit, and then reinstated for more constitutional review after remand under Moody v. NetChoice.

Why Our Support Matters

With this amicus brief, the Freedom to Learn Foundation takes a stand for:

  • Protecting First Amendment Rights: SF 496 ignores long-standing legal guardrails, banning books based on isolated content and without considering the work as a whole or the maturity of the reader. Such sweeping bans undermine freedom of speech and access to ideas protected by the Constitution.
  • Rejecting the “Government Speech” Argument: Iowa had attempted to claim that public school libraries are purely government speech and therefore beyond First Amendment scrutiny. This theory has already been rejected by appellate panels in Arkansas, Texas, and most recently in Iowa—emphasizing that library collections must reflect diverse viewpoints, not state endorsement.
  • Defending Diverse Voices and Educational Integrity: The law disproportionately harms literature that challenges students to think critically about identity, history, and social justice. Books at risk—including Beloved, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Fault in Our Stars, Forever, and Ulysses—are essential to curricula and to students’ understanding of themselves and the world.

What It Means for the Freedom to Learn Foundation

Joining this respected coalition brings our mission to life:

  • Standing with our educators and librarians who face punitive threats if they retain books that are constitutionally protected.
  • Building on momentum nationwide: Our work in Iowa is part of a larger fight to secure intellectual freedom across the country. Beyond this case, the Freedom to Learn Foundation is working to advance Freedom to Read protections in key states such as Michigan, Massachusetts, and Virginia, where proactive legislation can set new national benchmarks for safeguarding access to books. 
  • At the same time, we are defending hard-won victories in Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island and Colorado during the 2025 legislative sessions—states that recently passed landmark laws ensuring libraries cannot remove materials based on political or ideological objections.

These efforts are urgent because censorship is spreading rapidly: more than 30 states have introduced or passed book ban bills since 2023, many using copycat language designed to criminalize librarians, defund public libraries, and impose centralized lists of “prohibited” titles. Without a coordinated response, these policies risk becoming entrenched and normalized.

By supporting broad coalitions of educators, librarians, students, and civil rights advocates, we are not just reacting to censorship—we are creating a national framework for intellectual freedom that prioritizes diverse voices, respects professional expertise, and affirms every student’s right to explore ideas without fear.

A Call to Action

The stakes could not be higher: if SF 496 is allowed to stand, it will become a model for other states to follow—not only banning books, but chilling free expression and undermining professional librarianship.

We invite you to join this fight:

Follow and share our mission: Join us on social media to stay connected and help us amplify this movement:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter / X
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Speak out locally: Attend school board meetings, back your librarians, and ensure policymakers know direct censorship is not the will of your community.

Standing Together for the Freedom to Learn

This fight is about more than one law—it’s about whether we allow censorship to decide what future generations can read, learn, and imagine. By standing with our coalition partners, the Freedom to Learn Foundation is committed to defending intellectual freedom and educational equity wherever they are threatened.

We are grateful to everyone who has stood with us so far, and we need your voice now more than ever. Speak out, share this message, and join us in building a future where every student has the freedom to explore ideas without fear. Together, we can turn the tide against censorship and protect the stories that shape a free and democratic society.

With appreciation,

Rory Steele

Executive Director

Freedom to Learn Foundation