Townhall has covered how liberal educators have worked to teach their young students about sexual orientation and gender identity, in some cases, unbeknownst to parents. Some schools have taken it a step further and have helped children “transition” behind parents’ backs.
Since these revelations have come to light, many parents and school boards have been pushing back. Townhall covered how two California school districts have taken steps to protect parental rights in education and shelter kids from teachers pushing the transgender agenda. And, reports broke that a school district in Georgia took action after a teacher read a book about “gender identity” to her students.
An elementary school teacher from Georgia was recently fired for reading a book about gender identity to a class of fifth graders. Her termination was confirmed by a 4-3 vote by the Cobb County Board of Education, according to multiple reports.
Teacher Katie Rinderle, 33, worked at Due West Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia, and read the children’s book, “My Shadow Is Purple” to her students in March. According to Barnes and Noble’s website, the book is a “heartwarming and inspiring book about being true to yourself and moving beyond the gender binary[.]”
Reportedly, the board voted to fire Rinderle, overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators, according to NBC. Over a two-day hearing, the panel found that she violated school policies but should not be fired. She’d been a teacher for 10 years.
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“The District is pleased that this difficult issue has concluded; we are very serious about keeping our classrooms focused on teaching, learning, and opportunities for success for students. The Board's decision is reflective of that mission,” a statement from the school board said.
Rinderle released a statement through the Southern Poverty Law Center about the decision.
“The district is sending a harmful message that not all students are worthy of affirmation in being their unapologetic and authentic selves,” Rinderle said in her statement. “This decision, based on intentionally vague policies, will result in more teachers self-censoring in fear of not knowing where the invisible line will be drawn.”
According to The New York Times, Rinderle said that her students discussed the book after she read it to the class. The book involves a child who describes the color of their shadow as different from their mother’s pink shadow and their father’s blue shadow. Rinderle had her students write poems describing their own “shadows,” which is essentially their “gender identity.”
“The book was a picture book about a child who had many different interests,” she said. “They were really able to relate to the importance of belonging.”
In June, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a letter to Rinderle that she would be terminated for “insubordination” and that the “controversial” topic of gender identity was “not appropriate” for her elementary school students.
Three Democrats on the Board of Education voted against her termination. The school district reportedly has more than 106,000 students, the state’s second-largest.
