Katie Rinderle GoFundMe raises over $13,000 as Georgia teacher fired for reading gender identity book to students

On Thursday, August 17, a Georgia school board voted to fire teacher Katie Rinderle for reading a book about gender identity to her 5th grade students at Atlanta's Due West Elementary school. In the wake of the controversial decision, Rinderle's friends and supporters have started a GoFundMe page to help support the teacher as she attempts to seek new employment.

As of August 19, the initiative has raised approximately $13,700 of a $50,000 goal.

The GoFundMe page read:

"Katie is the latest victim of regressive tactics by politicians and local school boards. In the school district where she teaches, four of the seven Board members changed the rules to further their agenda, silencing the voices of the minority board members. Katie won’t be silent, nor will she be used as an example to place fear in other educators or to strip students from inclusive education."

According to CNN, the text Katie Rinderle read to her class was My Shadow is Purple, a picture book by Scott Stuart. The book is aimed at teaching children about the nature of gender fluidity.

As per the Georgia school board, exposing students to the book violated several policies, including the introduction of "divisive concepts."

---

The circumstances that led to the termination of Katie Rinderle

As noted by the Daily Beast, Katie Rinderle read My Shadow is Purple to her students in March 2023. That month, a parent complained that Rinderle was overstepping her bounds by teaching LGBTQ+ related content to her students.

In response to the complaint, school superintendent Chris Ragsdale recommended the firing of Katie Rinderle, claiming that she was introducing divisions and politics within the classroom. He cited a recent State censorship law that prevented teachers from discussing issues related to race and gender identity in Georgia classrooms.

On Thursday, the Cobb County school board voted 4-3 to fire Katie Rinderle. This went against the wishes of a tribunal panel of retired Cobb County educators, who had stated that they believed firing Katie Rinderle would be too harsh.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the Cobb County school board discussed their decision. The statement read:

“The district is pleased that this difficult issue has concluded; we are very serious about keeping our classrooms focused on teaching, learning, and opportunities for success for students."

Randy Scamihorn, a Republican who voted to terminate Rinderle, supported the decision:

“My constituents, my area, they’ve entrusted me to educate our kids, to keep our classrooms free of controversial topics and politics, and any negative impact to our students."

In a written statement, Rinderle claimed that she shouldn't be punished, as the children in her class had asked her to read My Shadow is Purple through a vote. According to her legal representation, the former teacher may attempt to appeal the board's decision.