(August 22, 2025) Starting September 8, middle and high school students Des Moines Public Schools will be able to use their school IDs as library cards at any of the six Des Moines Public Library branches. Twelve thousand students will gain access to more than 400,000 books and digital resources. For kids without a card, this partnership tears down a wall: without books, they can’t read.
Predictably, Republican groups jumped in with outrage. Sex obsessed Moms for Liberty claimed DMPS was “skirting state law” by creating a loophole around Iowa’s book ban legislation. But that’s where their argument collapses: the Des Moines Public Library already has an age-restricted 18+ section. Elementary students aren’t included in the program, and middle and high school students can’t use their school IDs to check out 18+ items. The loophole they’re railing against doesn’t actually exist.
Yet in another sense, Moms for Liberty is right: DMPS is skirting Iowa law—just not the one they think. The district turned to this partnership because Republicans have spent years starving school budgets while funneling millions into private vouchers. In another time, school libraries would have been the heart of every building—fully staffed, fully stocked, and buzzing with kids. That vision has been dismantled by underfunding. Now, to get books into students’ hands, urban and rural districts alike are forced to partner with local libraries and lean on outside resources. They’re not skirting book bans. They’re skirting state funding policies that shortchange public schools.
The stakes are high. A 2018 study in School Library Research found that students in schools with robust library programs consistently outperform their peers in reading achievement, regardless of family income. Literacy grows where reading materials are plentiful. It’s obvious. It’s not complicated. Students read more when they have more to read.
The DMPS–DMPL partnership isn’t a loophole for banned books. It’s a survival strategy in a state where legislators have drained public schools of resources while propping up private education. If Republicans adequately fund schools, every district will have its own vibrant, fully supported library system. Instead, some districts are scrambling for creative partnerships just to put books in students’ hands. This isn’t about censorship—it’s about political choices and finding a way to keep kids reading, Des Moines Public Schools and the Des Moines Public Library deserve applause.
“The more you study history the less you can deny it
A rotten law stays on the books til folks like us defy it.”
– Anne Feeney
Sources:
Des Moines Public Schools. “DMPS Students to Get Library Access with School IDs.” August 2025.
Des Moines Public Library official program details, 2025.
Moms for Liberty public statements, August 2025.
School Library Research. “School Libraries and Student Achievement.” 2018.
Iowa Legislature. School funding and voucher legislation history, 2017–2025.