Georgia school board fires teacher for reading a book to students about gender identity

By JEFF AMY
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia school board has voted to fire a teacher after officials said she improperly read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth grade class. The Cobb County School Board in suburban Atlanta voted 4-3 Thursday to fire Katie Rinderle. The board’s four-member Republican majority is overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators. The panel found after a two-day hearing that Rinderle violated district policies but said she shouldn’t be fired. The case has drawn attention as a test of what teachers can teach and whether parents can veto instruction they dislike. It comes amid a conservative backlash to books and teaching about LGBTQ+ subjects in school.