Six months after Iowa removed gender identity as a protected class from its civil rights laws, the state now must pay $85,000 to LGBTQ+ students ejected from the Iowa Capitol in 2020, among them trans students who were denied access to the buildings bathrooms.Iowa Safe Schools, an LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group, sponsored the visit of about 150 Iowa students and chaperones to the Capitol to meet with legislators in 2020. The groups then-executive director, Nate Monson, told the Iowa Register that, at the time, Iowa State Patrol troopers told several transgender students they couldnt use one of the bathrooms and had to use a gender-neutral restroom instead. Related Iowa GOP advances bill to legalize anti-trans discrimination When Monson intervened, arguing that the troopers directions were inconsistent with state law, theentire group was ordered to leave.I went up to the trooper and said, No, thats not what the law says, Monson said. The civil rights code includes gender identity. He told me it did not. Then I told him yes, it did. And he said, Well it doesnt include bathrooms. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The students were then told to leave the Capitol altogether, that they had been banned from the Capitol grounds, and they would be arrested if they returned.The students and several Iowa Safe Schools leadersfiled suit in 2022, alleging sex-based discrimination, harassment, and unlawful retaliation.Under terms of a settlement agreement filed in July and approved by the Iowa State Board of Appeals on Tuesday the state will pay the students and group leaders to settle the case without admitting any wrongdoing.These individuals were exercising their constitutional and civil rights when they were singled out and removed from the Iowa Capitol solely because of their identity and their affiliation with an LGBTQ+ organization, said Devin C. Kelly, an attorney for the plaintiffs, following the Board of Appeals approval. At a time when LGBTQ+ Iowans and their families continue to face growing challenges, this settlement reaffirms a simple truth: all Iowans are equal under the law, Kelly added.In a letter to the Board of Appeals, state attorney Jeffrey Peterzalek made it a point to say that the plaintiffs legal claims would now not be allowed under the updated Civil Rights Act.With Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signature in February, Iowa became the first state in the nation to remove a previously protected class from its civil rights laws. The change took effect July 1.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.