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The Iowa law prohibiting school libraries from having books containing sexually explicit material can go into effect, federal appeals court judges ruled Friday.

The three-person panel moved to lift the injunction blocking the law from enforcement Friday. Portions of the were previously blocked in January by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that Locher鈥檚 decision was based on a 鈥渇lawed analysis of the law.鈥�

The law prohibits school libraries from including books with written and visual depictions of sex acts from, in addition to banning instruction and materials involving issues of 鈥済ender identity鈥� and 鈥渟exual orientation鈥� for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. These regulations will now be allowed to take effect as legal challenges continue.

The law is being challenged by multiple parties, including the, Iowa Safe Schools, as well as the publisher Penguin Random House and due to the law.

Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown said in a statement that the organization was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� by the appeals court decision.

鈥淏anning essential books in our schools is a burden for our educators, who will face punishment for not guessing which book fits into a supposed offensive category, and for our students, who are deprived of reading from great authors with valuable stories,鈥� Brown said in a statement. 鈥淚f Iowa鈥檚 elected leaders truly valued education professionals, they would leave important classroom decisions to the local school districts and the experts who work in them 鈥� not make what we teach our students a game of political football.鈥�

Critics of the measure say that the law will keep classic literature 鈥� like the books 鈥淏rave New World鈥� and 鈥淯lysses鈥� 鈥� from being available in school libraries, but that a majority of the books removed from school shelves are those focused on stories about race and LGBTQ+ issues, like 鈥淕ender Queer,鈥� 鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue,鈥� and 鈥淭he Color Purple.鈥�

Educators have criticized the state for not clarifying the rules surrounding the law, as the Iowa Department of Education to provide more information on what materials are considered 鈥渁ge-appropriate鈥� under the law. The state department has said they plan to address allegations of noncompliance on a case-by-case basis.

But Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the appeals court decision was a win for Iowa parents.

Gov. Kim Reynolds also released a statement supporting the court opinion.

鈥淭oday, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed what we already knew 鈥� it should be parents who decide when and if sexually-explicit books are appropriate for their children,鈥� Reynolds said. 鈥淗ere in Iowa, we will continue to focus on excellence in education and partnerships with parents and educators.鈥�

The lawsuit found that the district court decision did not properly evaluate the law under existing precedent 鈥� referring specially to the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision in , a lawsuit involving speech on social media platforms. However, the judges also rejected the state鈥檚 argument that school library materials constitute 鈥済overnment speech.鈥� They also found that a transgender student whose school district banned gender-sexuality alliance clubs due to concerns about the law has standing to sue.

The ACLU of Iowa, alongside Lambda Legal and the Jenner & Block law firm, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, issued a join statement saying that Iowa families and LGBTQ+ students were 鈥渄eeply frustrated and disappointed鈥� by the court鈥檚 decision, especially as the 2024-2025 school year approaches.

鈥淒enying LGBTQ+ youth the chance to see themselves represented in classrooms and books sends a harmful message of shame and stigma that should not exist in schools,鈥� the legal organizations said in the statement. 鈥淲e are, however, encouraged by the Eighth Circuit鈥檚 complete rejection of the State鈥檚 most dangerous arguments, and we look forward to renewing our request for relief from this law鈥檚 damaging and unconstitutional effects on LGBTQ+ students. 鈥� We will ask the district court to block the law again at the earliest opportunity.鈥�

The decision returns the case to district court for further action.

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