Fired Cobb County Elementary Teacher is having the last word, she files suit

Former Due West Elementary School teacher Katie Rinderle has filed a lawsuit against the Cobb County School District. Rinderle was terminated for reading a children’s book about gender identity to her Cobb County students in March 2023. The book, “My Shadow is Purple,” explores gender beyond binary concepts.

Rinderle, along with Birney Elementary School teacher Tonya Grimmke and the Georgia Association of Educators, filed a federal lawsuit against the school district, school board, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, and Chris Dowd, alleging discrimination.

The lawsuit claims the school district’s policies on controversial issues violate teachers’ 14th Amendment rights, particularly under new laws passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 2022. Rinderle asserts that her termination constitutes sex discrimination and that the district discriminates against educators supporting LGBTQ students. The plaintiffs also allege a Title IX violation, asserting that Rinderle’s firing contradicts the prohibition of sex discrimination in education.

Rinderle and her co-plaintiffs seek reinstatement, monetary damages, and a declaration of the district’s censorship policies as unconstitutional. The lawsuit is considered the first federal challenge to classroom censorship rules in Georgia. The Cobb County School District declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Rinderle has filed an appeal with the Georgia Board of Education, with a decision expected at the next state school board meeting on Feb. 22.