The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a state law Friday that prevents sex offenders from living near schools or state-registered childcare centers.

The ruling was a defeat for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, which earlier had successfully had the law overturned.

In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel court said the state was allowed to keep offenders from living within 2,000 feet of the educational facilities. The ruling received bipartisan praise from state legislators and law enforcement officials.

The court said children’s safety should overshadow the added inconvenience to convicted sex offenders.

The ICLU objected to the law that prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or state-registered childcare facility, ICLU Executive Director Ben Stone said.

Stone said that perimeter makes sex offenders’ choices in housing extremely limited.

But supporters of the law said there are bigger concerns.

“I think sex offenders should be kept away from schools, even more than 2,000 feet,” said Sgt. Brian Vance of the Des Moines Police Department. “They are sexual predators. The rehabilitation they go through in jail and in the penal system is not sufficient, and they never really get over the addiction they have. Sex offenders should definitely have restrictions as to where they can live.”

ICLU officials plan to seek review of this decision by the full appeals court, Stone said. The 2,000-foot restriction makes 350 Iowa cities off-limits to sex offenders, he said.

“Under case law, this would be considered banishment, a cruel and unusual punishment,” he said. “This violates sex offenders’ right to due process.”

Stone said the ease in which citizens can register day care and babysitting facilities is also unfair to sex offenders.

“With the way things are, anybody in the state can fill out a one-page piece of paper and make sure there’s a 2,000 bubble around their house, or make sure a sex offender in their area would have to move,” he said. “Anyone can register a home baby-sitting or day-care business without even having kids.”

Iowa Senator Mike Connolly, D-Dubuque, said the 2,000-foot provision is likely to be added back to the bill being considered to replace the law that had been struck down.

“The court has ruled that the 2,000-foot perimeter is OK, and it is likely that similar limits will be put on the final bill in regards to where sex offenders can live,” he said. “Everyone wants to ensure sex offenders are monitored and so forth, but at the same time, you don’t want to make it where they can’t live anywhere, either. This is the delicate balance we are faced with.”

Stone agreed the law must be carefully worded.

“The law is a real mess and really impractical,” he said. “The limitation is unconstitutional to sex offenders and would create penal colonies in some parts of Iowa.”

The ICLU’s main concerns are how the law might violate the rights of sex offenders and the likelihood of law enforcement officials being able to enforce the 2,000-foot perimeter, Stone said.

“After serving their time in jail, sex offenders can’t get a job and can’t live anywhere,” he said. “The proposed change will force sex offenders to move into penal colonies, virtual prisons, if not overturned.”

Information on the more than 7,000 registered sex offenders in Iowa can be seen online, at www.iowasexoffender.com.