Ousted Cobb County teacher files federal lawsuit to get her job back
By Web Staff
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — A former fifth grade teacher who was fired for reading a book deemed “divisive” has filed a federal lawsuit against the Cobb County School District to get her job back.
Katie Rinderle, along with current Cobb County teacher Tonya Grimmke and the Georgia Association of Educators, claim the school district’s “vague censorship policies enable arbitrary, discriminatory, and retaliatory enforcement against educators, like plaintiffs, who support LGBTQ students.”
Rinderle was a teacher at Due West Elementary School in Marietta. Initially, Rinderle was put on leave after reading “My Shadow is Purple” to her class. The book is about a nonbinary child who doesn’t identify as a boy or a girl.
Following a termination hearing, a tribunal recommended Rinderle be able to keep her job.
In a 4-3 vote, the Cobb County School Board fired Rinderle following the recommendation from the tribunal.
The lawsuit claims the school district’s “vague censorship policies” were used to “terminate Rinderle, and pose a continuing threat to other teachers in the school district, including Grimmke and GAE members, and harm Cobb County students’ ability to learn in safe and inclusive classrooms.”
The lawsuit also seeks to block the school district’s policies regarding censorship and damages.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division.
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