 | A request that this article title be changed to Iowa Senate File 418 is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
| Senate File 418 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Iowa General Assembly | |
| |
| Citation | SF 418 |
| Territorial extent | Iowa |
| Enacted by | Iowa Senate |
| Enacted | February 27, 2025 |
| Enacted by | Iowa House of Representatives |
| Enacted | February 27, 2025 |
| Signed by | Kim Reynolds, Governor of Iowa |
| Signed | February 28, 2025 |
| Effective | July 1, 2025 |
| Administered by | Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Department of Education, and Iowa Civil Rights Commission |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Iowa Senate | |
| Bill title | Senate File 418 |
| Bill citation | SF 418 |
| Introduced by | Jason Schultz |
| Introduced | February 24, 2025 |
| Committee responsible | Senate Judiciary Committee |
| First reading | February 24, 2025 |
| Second reading | February 26, 2025 |
| Third reading | February 27, 2025 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Second chamber: Iowa House of Representatives | |
| Bill title | Senate File 418 |
| Bill citation | SF 418 |
| Received from the Iowa Senate | February 24, 2025 |
| Member(s) in charge | Steven Holt |
| Committee responsible | House Judiciary Committee |
| First reading | February 24, 2025 |
| Second reading | February 26, 2025 |
| Third reading | February 27, 2025 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Final stages | |
| Finally passed both chambers | February 27, 2025 |
| Amends | |
| Iowa Civil Rights Act | |
| Repeals | |
| |
| Summary | |
| Senate File 418 redefines "sex" in Iowa law based on biological characteristics at birth, removes "gender identity" as a protected class under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, prohibits changes to sex designation on birth certificates based solely on medical transition, and bans instruction on gender identity theory in grades K–6. | |
| Status: Not yet in force | |
Senate File 418 (SF 418), with the long title called A bill for an act relating to sex and gender, including those and related terms for purposes of statutory construction, indications of a person’s sex on certain vital records, gender identity under the Iowa civil rights Act, and school curricula related to gender theory, is a 2025 anti-trans bill passed by the Iowa Legislature that removes gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, thereby eliminating legal protections against discrimination based on gender identity in employment (with a religious exemption for bona fide religious institutions and their affiliates), housing, education, credit, and public accommodations. These protections were initially established on July 1, 2007, and are set to be rescinded effective July 1, 2025, after 18 years in effect. From September 14, 1999, to March 28, 2001, Executive Order No. 7, issued by Governor Tom Vilsack, prohibited discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in hiring and employment for state employees.[1][2] The bill also defines sex in state law as "a person's biological sex as either female or male," based on reproductive anatomy.[3]
Additionally, the bill repeals provisions that previously allowed individuals to change the sex designation on their birth certificate based solely on transition-related medical treatment. While individuals may still request a new birth certificate with an updated legal sex designation, the amended certificate must also include the individual's sex as observed or clinically verified at birth, with the sex listed on a birth certificate issued at or near the time of birth considered presumptively correct.[3] These provisions allowing individuals to change the sex designation on their birth certificate were initially established on July 1, 1972, and are set to be rescinded effective July 1, 2025, after 52 years, 11 months, 4 weeks and 1 day in effect.[4]
The bill also prohibits instruction on "gender identity theory" or "gender theory" in kindergarten through sixth grade, including restrictions on discussions about puberty blockers and social transition. The bill was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds on February 28, 2025, and is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2025. Iowa became the first state in the United States (U.S.) to statutorily repeal a protected class category from a state civil rights law and the first to repeal gender identity from a state civil rights law.[3]
U.S. federal laws continue to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity as interpreted by federal agencies and courts in employment, housing, education, and credit practices, but these may be more limited in scope and enforcement compared to the broader protections previously available under Iowa's civil rights statute.[5][6][7][8] Gender identity discrimination is prohibited in public accommodations tied to federal funding or programs such as educational institutions (Title IX), healthcare facilities (Section 1557 of the ACA), federally funded shelters (VAWA), federal buildings and services (14th Amendment), airlines (DOT regulations), and certain public transit systems receiving federal funds. However, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act do not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sex, meaning that such discrimination will be legally permitted in public accommodations for private businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, movie theaters, and amusement parks, under state law beginning July 1, 2025.[9][10]
- ^ "Executive Order No. 7 (1999)" (PDF).
- ^ "Executive Order No. 18 (2001)" (PDF).
- ^ a b c "Senate File 418 – BillBook". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "Iowa Code §144.23 – State Registrar to Issue New Certificate" (PDF). Iowa Legislature. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ^ "Implementation of Bostock v. Clayton County". U.S. Department of Justice. June 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "HUD Announces Enforcement of Fair Housing Act to Prohibit Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity". U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. February 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "U.S. Department of Education Confirms Title IX Protects Students from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity". U.S. Department of Education. June 16, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "CFPB Clarifies That ECOA Prohibits Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity". Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. March 9, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "42 U.S. Code § 2000a - Prohibition Against Discrimination or Segregation in Places of Public Accommodation". Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "42 U.S. Code § 12182 - Prohibition of discrimination by public accommodations". Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search