Sexually explicit books will remain in Iowa schools and teachers can continue lessons on radical gender theory for elementary students, a judge appointed by President Joe Biden decided on Friday.

“I’m extremely disappointed in today’s ruling,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement on Friday. “Instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation has no place in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms.

“And there should be no question that books containing sexually explicit content – as clearly defined in Iowa law – do not belong in a school library for children,” Reynolds said. “The fact that we’re even arguing these issues is ridiculous. The real debate should be about why our society is so intent on over-sexualizing our young children. It’s wrong, and I will continue to do my part to protect their innocence.”

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher, appointed by President Biden, describes Senate File 496 as “unreasonable” and “puritanical,” and granted a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing two aspects of the law: the restriction on explicit books and the prohibition against elementary school lessons on gender identity, Iowa Public Radio reports.

Locher left intact a third provision that requires schools to notify parents if a child requests a pronoun change. Penalties for violations of the law were set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Locher’s ruling addresses combined arguments from two separate legal challenges to the law, one brought by LGBTQ students and another from the publisher Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association, the union representing teachers.

Locher found the restrictions on explicit books likely violates the First Amendment, while the provision against teaching gender identity to elementary students is “void for vagueness,” he wrote.

The former “requires the wholesale removal of every book containing a description or visual depiction of a ‘sex act,’ regardless of context,” Locher wrote, according to The New York Times. “The underlying message is that there is no redeeming value to any such book even if it is a work of history, self-help guide, award-winning novel or other piece of serious literature. In effect, the Legislature has imposed a puritanical ‘pall of orthodoxy’ over school libraries.”

Locher claimed the law prohibited discussion with elementary students of any gender identity, which he said made it “all but impossible for a reasonable person to know what will and will not lead to punishment” for those who violate the ban.

“(O)n its face, the law prohibits any programs, promotion or instruction recognizing that anyone is male or female or in a relationship of any sort (gay or straight),” he wrote, according to the Des Moines Register. “The statute is therefore content neural but so wildly overbroad that every school district and elementary school teacher in the state has likely been violating it since the day the school year started.”

ISEA President Mike Beranek celebrated Friday’s ruling as “a big win” that he said proves “the First Amendment is alive and well in Iowa and our public schools.”

“When education professionals return to work … they can do what they do best: take great care of all their students without fear of reprisal,” Beranek said in a statement. “This ruling means they can continue successfully guiding all students without fear of punishment or losing their jobs.”

Nathan Maxwell, attorney with Lambda Legal representing LGBTQ+ students, said the decision “sends a strong message to the state that efforts to ban books based on LGBTQ+ content, or target speech that sends a message of inclusion to Iowa LGBTQ+ students cannot stand,” IPR reports.

Regardless, Attorney General Brenna Bird has vowed to continue efforts to ensure students are not exposed to sexually explicit materials, echoing Reynolds’ perspective.

“Sexually explicit books do not belong in our elementary-school libraries or classrooms,” Bird said in a statement. “Not only is this common sense, it’s the law. As attorney general, I will keep on fighting to protect families, enforce the law and keep inappropriate books out of the hands of children in school.”

The injunction issued Friday temporarily blocks enforcement of the law as the legal challenges continue through the court system, and may be lifted or changed as the cases proceed.