COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County teacher who was fired for reading a book about gender identity to a class of fifth graders last year is now suing the school district.
Katie Rinderle was removed from her classroom in March after reading “My Shadow is Purple” to her class. She was formally fired by the school board in August.
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The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Tuesday, names the school district, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and individual members of the school board as defendants.
Current Cobb County teacher Tonya Grimmke and the Georgia Association of Educators are also named as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit claims that the school district was too vague in its censorship policies and did not define what topics were “divisive, controversial and sensitive.”
They claim that the school district never told Rinderle or other teachers that discussions of LGTBQ issues or gender identity were “prohibited from classroom discussions.”
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Grimmke says, in the lawsuit, because the district’s policies are vague and she is unclear what she can and cannot talk about to her students, she is concerned for her job security if she discusses she did not know is considered “controversial” or “divisive.”
The Georgia Association of Educators say they joined the lawsuit because they have seen substantial costs as a result of the school district’s decision to remove and fire Rinderle and have had to divert resources from their other programs.
The lawsuit calls for Rinderle to get her job with Cobb County Schools back as well as monetary damages for emotional distress, humiliation and more.
“While we have no comment on ongoing litigation, we are proud to be a District to be focused on the Georgia Standards and what children need to know and do,” a district spokesperson said in a statement released Wednesday morning.
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