A suburban Atlanta school board has voted to terminate the contract of a teacher who read a book about gender identity to gifted fifth-graders – the latest salvo in a nationwide clash over how issues like gender and race are discussed in public school classrooms.
The Cobb County board voted 4-3 Thursday to terminate the contract of Katherine Rinderle, disagreeing with the recommendation of a panel of retired county educators. She was removed from her classroom in March after a parent complained she’d read “My Shadow is Purple” to her class, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which represents her.
The district has claimed Rinderle in reading the book violated at least six of its policies and administrative rules, including two based on 2022 Georgia laws that restrict instruction of “divisive concepts” and provide greater transparency to parents and guardians in what their children are taught, according to a charge letter from the district reviewed by CNN.
