COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County School District is facing a new lawsuit over a controversy surrounding a book and a teacher getting fired.
Two individuals filed a lawsuit against the district last week, claiming that their free speech rights were violated by district officials.
The lawsuit claims the district tried to prevent people from speaking out during a board meeting last year when board members were reviewing the potential termination of Due West Elementary School teacher Katie Rinderle.
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According to the lawsuit, the issue “at hand” was before a September 2023 school board meeting. The lawsuit claims that changes were made to prevent critics of the district from speaking out against the firing of Rinderle, infringing on their free speech rights under the First Amendment.
The hearings and eventual termination of Rinderle’s employment in the district came after she read a book to her fifth-grade class about a child with gender identity issues.
In response to the lawsuit filed last week, the Cobb County School District told Channel 2 Action News:
“While we have no comment about ongoing litigation, our team remains focused on ensuring student success. It’s disturbing that some choose to focus on wasting taxpayer dollars and attacking hard-working educators, parents, and public employees to wage a political fight on the eve of an election.”
Rinderle has also filed a lawsuit against the district after her termination.
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