In an unusual move, the U.S. Department of Justice and more than a dozen states have weighed in on an ongoing lawsuit by a former Cobb County elementary school teacher who says she was wrongly fired by the school district for reading a book to her students that challenged gender norms.
Katie Rinderle was fired from her teaching job in 2023 after reading “My Shadow is Purple” by Scott Stuart to her students. She is believed to be the first public school teacher in Georgia to face consequences under state laws passed in 2022 that limit what teachers are allowed to discuss in the classroom.
Credit: Larkin House
Credit: Larkin House
She and other educators and students are now suing the Cobb County School District for discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that the district’s policies on “controversial issues” have been used to discipline teachers who show support for LGBTQ+ students. Rinderle’s attorneys say it’s the first federal lawsuit that challenges classroom censorship laws.
Attorneys for the school district have moved to dismiss the case. They say, in part, that the suit represents “extraordinary encroachment into educational decisions” typically left to school officials, not teachers or students.
But in court filings this week, attorneys general from several states voiced support for the suit. They argue that Cobb’s actions are “far outside the bounds of ordinary educational decision-making” — and could impact states beyond Georgia.
The states allege that the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ youth via Cobb’s policies could affect children who are placed in Georgia from other states, particularly when a large portion of children in foster care identify as LGBTQ+. Other states will need to devote more resources to supporting LGBTQ+ students as a result, the states allege.
Further, in a Statement of Interest of the United States of America, attorneys explained it is appropriate for the court to consider the alleged effects of the district’s policies when determining whether Cobb’s actions violate Title IX. The plaintiffs alleged that the district violated the federal policy, which protects individuals from sex discrimination.
It’s rare for states or the DOJ to file these types of briefings, though they routinely monitor federal court cases, said Michael Tafelski, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center who is representing Rinderle. Even more so at such an early stage in a case.
“I think it really speaks to how DOJ sees the importance of this case going well beyond Cobb County Schools,” he said.
In 2017, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in support of a Georgia Gwinnett College student who said the school violated his constitutional rights when the student said he was told he couldn’t distribute fliers sharing his Christian faith in an open area of the campus.
A school district spokesperson on Tuesday declined to comment on the recent filings, but reaffirmed the district’s decision to fire Rinderle.
“It is far more relevant for the Georgia Board of Education to have affirmed the District’s decision, based on Georgia law, than the opinions of out-of-state political activists,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Rinderle has appealed her firing in a separate filing in Cobb County Superior Court, which is ongoing.
Joining the District of Columbia in urging the court not dismiss the suit are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Vermont.
In addition to seeking Rinderle’s reinstatement as a teacher, the lawsuit asks the court to prevent Cobb from enforcing two policies that limit what teachers can discuss or teach in their classrooms. The portion of the policies in question were added after Georgia passed the “parents’ bill of rights” and “divisive concepts” laws in 2022.
Rinderle was fired after some parents complained they were not informed about the content of the book before it was read in the classroom in March 2023. Rinderle has maintained that the book was about inclusivity.
