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Katie Rinderle Wiki – Katie Rinderle Biography

A Georgia school district fired a veteran teacher after parents refused to let her read a picture book about gender identity to a fifth-grade class. The Cobb County School Board voted 4-3 Thursday to fire Katie Rinderle from Due West Elementary, who has been teaching for 10 years, overruling a panel of retired educators who said that even though she violated district policies, she shouldn’t be fired, according to 11 Alive.

After the March class read “My Shadow Is Purple,” a book that explores gender identity and centers on a non-binary character, the parents of Rinderle’s 10- and 11-year-olds were angry.

The concern triggered a new state law that places restrictions on how elementary school teachers can talk about race and other topics in the classroom. However, Rinderle’s attorney, Craig Goodmark, argued that teachers across the state had barely been briefed on what is now legal under the new state law against “divisive concepts,” topics that require parental consent before to teach them in the classroom.

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Katie Rinderle Age

The age of Katie Rinderle is not clear.

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Charges on Katie Rinderle

She is disappointed that this was the case, especially after two days of hearings, and she still doesn’t know what is controversial, what is divisive or what is sensitive,” Goodmark said, the news outlet reported. “There’s no way a teacher can know what’s on a parent’s mind when their lesson starts,” Goodmark added. “And for parents to be able, with a political agenda from outside the classroom, to walk in and get a teacher fired, is just unfair, it’s not right, and it’s terrible for the Georgia education system.”

While Rinderle may consider options to appeal her expulsion, her attorney said the board’s decision does not affect her teaching certificate, so she could work for another school district. Although some parents called for the school board not to fire the fifth-grade teacher, most, including Abigail Darnell, encouraged Rinderle’s expulsion.

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“I am very concerned about the possibility of radical ideas being presented to young children without parental consent or notification,” Darnell said, according to the news outlet. “Teachers must not be allowed to bring left-wing political activism into the classroom and get away with it.”

All four school board Republicans voted to fire Rinderle; three Democrats voted against firing her after unsuccessfully trying to delay the vote. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who has the backing of the Republican majority, first recommended her firing. “The district is pleased that this difficult matter has been concluded; We take it very seriously to keep our classrooms focused on teaching, learning, and opportunities for student success.

The board’s decision reflects that mission,” the district said in a news release. Cobb County adopted a rule barring teachers from planning lessons on controversial topics in 2022 after Georgia lawmakers passed a law banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” and creating a bill of rights for parents.

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The Divisive Concepts Act addresses teaching about race, but also prevents teachers from “assuming personal political beliefs.” The parental bill of rights guarantees that parents have “the right to direct the upbringing and moral or religious upbringing of their minor child”.

School district attorney Sherry Culves said discussing gender identity in the classroom was inappropriate. The Cobb County School District takes very seriously that the classroom be a neutral place for students to learn,” Culves said at a hearing. “One-sided instruction on political, religious or social beliefs does not belong in our classrooms.” Rinderle is believed to be the first public school teacher in Georgia to be fired as a result of the newly enacted laws.Read More……

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