A 1st grade teacher in Wisconsin was fired for objecting to her district鈥檚 decision to prohibit a student performance of a song about rainbows and acceptance.
In March, Heyer Elementary School 1st grade teacher Melissa Tempel learned that her students could not sing 鈥淩ainbowland,鈥� a song by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, at the school鈥檚 spring concert, because her principal, Mark Schneider, decided it could be considered controversial, citing the district鈥檚 so-called controversial issues policy. She at the Waukesha district鈥檚 decision to not allow the song.
Following the tweet, Tempel was placed on administrative leave in April. In May, she received a letter from the district鈥檚 superintendent, James Sebert, announcing that he was recommending her termination to the school board as a result of an investigation the district conducted, in which it found that she had violated several employee conduct policies.
On July 12, after a four-hour public hearing where lawyers for Tempel and the district presented their arguments, the board unanimously voted to accept Sebert鈥檚 recommendation to fire Tempel.
At the hearing, Schneider, Sebert, and other administrators testified about the impact of Tempel鈥檚 tweet. They said it brought negative attention to the district, threats, and public criticism, ultimately risking student safety.
鈥淎s stated in the report, you were entitled to disagree with the decision of the district related to the use of the song 鈥楻ainbowland鈥� at the Heyer concert,鈥� Sebert said in the May 15 letter to Tempel announcing the results of the investigation.
鈥淗owever, the manner in which you chose to express your disagreement with the district鈥檚 decision was inappropriate, disruptive, and in violation of various public policies. You failed to raise your concerns through the appropriate channels and instead took your concerns public in a manner intended to bring as much attention to the district鈥檚 decision as possible, which resulted in substantial disruption to the school environment.鈥�
The Waukesha district did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The school board released a statement on July 13 about its unanimous decision the previous day, according to board chair Kelly Piacsek, who sent EdWeek a copy.
鈥淭he decision of the Board was not about any particular song, that may or may not have been selected for a concert, but the process by which an employee goes about expressing their concerns in a productive manner in accordance with Board Policy,鈥� the letter said.
Tempel believes she was fired for standing up for the song and against her principal鈥檚 decision to bar students鈥� performance of the song.
鈥淚 tweeted about it because I knew that people were going to be interested in hearing that this song that鈥檚 completely wholesome has been banned by my school district, and we weren鈥檛 given any reason,鈥� she said in an interview with EdWeek.
鈥淏ut when you look at all the policy changes, it鈥檚 easy to deduce that the reason is rainbows.鈥�
Some educators face consequences for defending their beliefs
Tempel鈥檚 firing is the latest example of repercussions teachers are facing nationwide for discussing political, racial or gender, and sexuality issues both in the classroom and publicly. From 2020 to 2022, at least 160 teachers have resigned or been fired for discussing these and other heavily debated topics, according to a . Others have faced a public backlash.
Matthew Hawn, a teacher in Tennessee, was fired in 2021 for teaching that white privilege is a fact. Almost two years later, he was still fighting to get his job back. Amanda Jones, a librarian in Louisiana, received online backlash for weeks and an emailed a death threat after she made a speech against censorship at a public library. She plans to appeal the dismissal of a lawsuit she filed against Facebook groups she claimed harassed her.
Tempel would not have acted differently, even if she knew the consequences beforehand, she said.
鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 spoken out, I don鈥檛 know that I would have been able to forgive myself for keeping quiet because this is something that matters so much to the future of our kids,鈥� she said.
On April 12, Jill Underly, Wisconsin鈥檚 elected state superintendent of public instruction, sent a letter to Waukesha urging the more than 12,000-student district to re-evaluate the controversial issues policy, and the initial decision to put Tempel on leave.
鈥淚 write today because I am deeply troubled by the harm caused as you鈥檝e applied the School District of Waukesha鈥檚 controversial issues policy,鈥� she said in the letter 澳门跑狗论坛 obtained.
鈥淲hether you realize it or not, you are, under the guise of protection, causing undue harm to students and staff. However, this damage is reversible. It is paramount that you change course now.鈥�
Parton and Cyrus say the song is about inclusion and acceptance
鈥淩ainbowland鈥� is a song about being 鈥渆xactly who we are,鈥� according to the lyrics. Both Parton and Cyrus have discussed the song鈥檚 message of inclusion and acceptance of different identities in media interviews.
Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise / Where we're free to be exactly who we are / Let's all dig down deep inside / Brush the judgment and fear aside.
In September 2017, Cyrus told the music website that the song is about different races, genders, and religions.
鈥淚f we all did come together to create and said, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e different, that鈥檚 awesome, let鈥檚 not change to be the same, let鈥檚 stay different but let鈥檚 come together anyway.鈥� Because a rainbow鈥檚 not a rainbow without all the different [colors].鈥�
The following month, Parton told that the song offers a message of hope and positivity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about if we could love one another a little better or be a little kinder, be a little sweeter, we could live in rainbow land,鈥� Parton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really just about dreaming and hoping that we could all do better. It鈥檚 a good song for the times right now.鈥�
In his testimony to the school board, Schneider said he decided 鈥淩ainbowland鈥� could violate the district鈥檚 controversial issues policy because he was concerned about students looking up Cyrus online, given 鈥渟ome of the images that she portrays.鈥� Schneider also denied that the association with rainbows or the message of inclusion was part of the reason he did not allow the song. (The district eventually allowed first graders to sing another song called 鈥淩ainbow Connection,鈥� by Jim Henson, from 鈥淭he Muppet Movie,鈥� at the concert after the principal went back and forth on that decision.)
Waukesha鈥檚 controversial issues policy: What it says and how it鈥檚 enforced
The , which was passed in 2017 and updated in 2022, defines any issue that may be the subject of intense public argument, disagreement, or disapproval as controversial.
These topics could have 鈥減olitical, social or personal impacts,鈥� or 鈥渁rouse both support and opposition in the community.鈥� The policy does not explicitly mention rainbows or pride flags. However, even before the updated version of the policy was in place, the district suspended a special education teacher in her classroom, according to local media.
In a February 2023 meeting, when asked what counts as political or controversial, Sebert, the superintendent, told parents that 鈥渁 lot of it really comes down to the rainbow-type stuff, and making sure that isn鈥檛 in the classrooms,鈥� according to a local parent group, The district also has policies that require students to use the bathroom associated with their sex assigned at birth as opposed to their gender identity, and ban teachers from using students鈥� affirmed pronouns if they don鈥檛 correspond with the student鈥檚 sex assigned at birth.
More than 160 Waukesha teachers resigned between June 2022 and June 2023, with some citing board policies as their reason, the local teachers鈥� union Since the policy was updated, Tempel felt she wasn鈥檛 able to support students if they talked to her about their lives, in case anything she said could be considered a policy violation, she said.
Tempel intends to sue the district for violating her First Amendment rights, according to her lawyer, Summer Murshid.
鈥淭his is not about culture wars or rainbows, this is about the constitutional rights that each and every one of us have, including teachers, who do not check those rights at the door when they enter their schools,鈥� Murshid said.
The district argued that because Tempel identified herself as a teacher in the tweet, the employee handbook and district policies were still applicable to her conduct. Tempel and her lawyer said she sent the tweet outside of school hours, and it was not part of her professional responsibilities, so she was bringing attention to a decision she found concerning.
