Section 201.20.6. Publications.

       20.6(1) The institution shall allow offenders access to publications when doing so is consistent with institutional goals of maintaining internal order, safety, security, and rehabilitation.

       20.6(2) Publications include any periodical, newspaper, book, pamphlet, magazine, newsletter, or similar material published by any individual, organization, company, or corporation, and made available for a commercial purpose. All publications shall be unused and sent directly from an approved publisher or bookstore which does mail order business. Any exceptions must be authorized by the warden or superintendent. No publication will be denied solely on the basis of its appeal to a particular ethnic, racial, religious, or political group. The quantity of printed materials, as with other personal property, will be controlled for safety and security reasons.

       20.6(3) All publications not on the approved list shall be reviewed by a publication review committee for approval, denial, or control of the publication.

        a.           The committee shall be appointed by the director or designee, department of corrections, and shall include a person with broad exposure to various publications and two representatives of correctional operations.

        b.           The committee shall fairly review all types of publications to be received by offenders in accordance with these rules.

       20.6(4) The following procedures shall be used when a publication not on the approved list is reviewed:

        a.           The committee shall approve, deny, or control publications within 30 working days of receipt of the publication.

        b.           When a publication is denied or controlled, the committee shall send the offender a written notice stating the publication involved, the reason for denial or control, and the offender's available appeal process.

        c.           The offender shall have five days from receipt of the notice of denial or control to notify the designated institution staff to destroy the publication, to specify where to send the publication at the offender's expense, or to notify the institution that the decision is being appealed.

        d.           A list of approved publications shall be maintained.

       20.6(5) A publication may be denied when the publication presents a danger to the security or order of an institution or is inconsistent with rehabilitation goals. Authorized reasons for denying a publication are that the publication:

        a.           Is likely to be disruptive or produce violence.

        b.           Contains material which portrays or simulates a minor (any person 17 years of age or younger) engaged in or simulating any act that is sexual in nature.

        c.           Contains hard-core pornography depicting patently offensive representations of oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse, actual or simulated, involving humans, or depicting patently offensive representations of masturbation, excretory functions, or bestiality, or lewd exhibition of the genitals, which the average adult taking the material as a whole in applying statewide contemporary community standards would find appeals to the prurient interest; and which material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political, or artistic value as prohibited by Iowa Code section 728.4.

        d.           Contains information relating to escapes or formulating escape plans.

        e.           Contains information relating to provoking a riot or disturbance.

        f.            Contains information relating to obtaining an emotional or behavioral state comparable to those produced by a controlled substance, by using aerosols, glue, or other chemical materials.

        g.           Contains materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach martial arts, or other manufacture of weapons or explosives, or advocate behavior contrary to duly established institution rules or Iowa statutes. Contains materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach ability to frustrate crowd or riot control methods. Contains materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach ability to sabotage or disrupt communications networks, including a prison’s internal and external communications and automated information systems.

        h.           Contains information concerning criminal activities.

        i.            Contains encoded material. This shall not automatically include foreign language publications not otherwise prohibited in these rules.

        j.            May violate postal regulations, such as threats, blackmail, contraband, or similar violations.

       20.6(6) Portrayal or simulation of fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation, ejaculation, sexual intercourse, male erection, bestiality, sadomasochism, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of genitals, or other sexually explicit materials will be denied to offenders when the material is inconsistent with rehabilitation goals.

       20.6(7) Publications which contain material portraying or simulating fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation, ejaculation, sexual intercourse or male erection and are not approved or denied by the review committee will be controlled for the security and order of the institution and to assist in enabling its control from those offenders denied access by 20.6(6) above. Institutional procedures shall be established for the offender to reserve time in a designated controlled area and obtain the controlled publication for reading during specified times. The controlled publication will be secured until the offender makes arrangements for further review of the controlled publication. An offender may have secured no more than ten publications at any given time, none of which are over three months old from publication date or receipt, and any that are in excess of the ten limit or over three months old must be sent out of the institution at the offender's expense, destroyed, or taken with the offender upon release.

       20.6(8) An offender may appeal the committee’s decision or the denial of a publication because the publication is inconsistent with rehabilitation goals within ten days of receipt of the decision by filing a written appeal and sending it to Administrator, Division of Investigative Services, Department of Corrections, 510 East 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. The administrator's decision shall be final.