The case has drawn wide attention as a test of what public school teachers can teach in class, how much a school system can control teachers and whether parents can veto instruction they dislike. It comes amid a nationwide conservative backlash to books and teachingOfficials in Cobb County, Georgia’s second-largest school district, argue Rinderle broke the school district’s rules against teaching on controversial subjects and decided to fire her after parents complained.
But a district-appointed, three-person tribunal that heard the case denied the district’s recommendation to terminate her employment. “I appreciate the tribunal’s consideration of my case and decision not to terminate me,” Rinderle said in an emailed statement to the newspaper through the Southern Poverty Law Center. “However, I disagree that I’ve violated any policy and that finding remains unjust and punitive. The district has never provided adequate guidance on how I am supposed to know what is and what is not allowed in the classroom based on these vague policies.
The school board will have the choice to adopt, reject or modify the tribunal’s decision during Thursday’s school board meeting. Board Chair Brad Wheeler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the board would discuss the case this week.