What are the allegations against Cobb County School District? Georgia educators file federal s*x discrimination lawsuit

The Cobb County School District (CCSD) has come under fire from a couple of Cobb County educators along with the Georgia Association of Educators filed a federal lawsuit against the School District alleging s*x discrimination. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Tuesday, February 13. The two educators were identified as Katie Rinderle and Tonya Grimmke.

Rindale was fired by the Cobb County School District in August of last year after reading a children's book that discusses gender identity to fifth graders. The lawsuit alleged that the CCSD followed "vague censorship" policies that discriminated against the plaintiffs who supported LGBTQ+ kids.

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Lawsuit against Cobb County School District hopes to reinstate Katie Rinderle's former teaching position

Back in August 2023, a Cobb County School District educator who worked at Due West Elementary School, Katie Rinderle was fired by the School District with a 4-3 vote for reading a book named 'My Shadow Is Purple' to her fifth-grade students. The book discussed themes of traditional gender norms and gender fluidity.

Back in 2022, Georgia enacted the 'Protecting Students First Act' which prohibited "espousing personal political beliefs" concerning "divisive concepts", which were simply defined as the concepts regarding the role of race and racism in the United States of America.

This was also the same year, the House passed the 'Parents Bill of Rights' which stated that all parental rights, including the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of the kid, were reserved for the parents of the child sans any state or government obstruction or interference.

The lawsuit stated that the Cobb County School District officially adopted these as its official policies after the passage of the bill but alleged that its policies were far too vague. Katie Rinderle along with 18-year CCSD veteran educator Tonya Grimmke, and the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) were named as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The lawsuit accused:

"CCSD’s vague censorship policies enable arbitrary, discriminatory, and retaliatory enforcement against educators, like Plaintiffs, who support LGBTQ students."

It further alleged:

"Plaintiffs seek relief from CCSD’s vague censorship policies that include undefined terms such as “controversial,” “divisive,” and “sensitive.” These opaque policies were used to terminate Rinderle, and pose a continuing threat to other teachers in the school district,"

It alleged that the policies harmed the ability of Cobb County students to learn in inclusive and safe classrooms and were used to censor educators like Rinderle. The lawsuit further alleged that the firing of Katie Rinderle was a direct violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. According to the lawsuit, Title IX states:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of s*x, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

The lawsuit also claimed that the firing was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which according to the official Congress website states:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The lawsuit requested the federal court restore Katie Rinderle's former teaching position at the Cobb County School District and modify her records to wipe out any misconduct or disciplinary issues faced due to the alleged censorship policies. It also requested the court award Rinderle with nominal, presumed, and actual monetary damages against the defendants.

The Cobb County School District Superintendent and the Board executive officer Chris Ragsdale, the seven members of the school district board, and CCSD executive director for employee relations Christopher Dowd were named as defendants in the lawsuit.