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  "path": "/politics/states/georgia-court-cobb-teacher-firing",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-24T18:37:27.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.advocate.com",
  "tags": [
    "Cobb county",
    "My shadow is purple",
    "Atlanta",
    "Censorship",
    "Katie rinderle",
    "Georgia",
    "fire a teacher",
    "LGBTQ+",
    "LGBTQ",
    "Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.",
    "voted 4-3",
    "Instructor who gave U of Oklahoma student a zero on anti-trans paper removed from teaching",
    "Oklahoma University instructor suspended for failing student’s unscientific anti-trans psychology essay",
    "Fox affiliate",
    "Virginia school board settles lawsuit with students accused of harassing trans classmate"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nAn appeals court has upheld a decision by a Georgia school district to fire a teacher for reading a book promoting LGBTQ+ tolerance.\n\n**Keep up with the latest in** LGBTQ**+ news and politics.** Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.\n\nThe Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that the Cobb County Superior Court properly ruled that a school district was within its rights when it voted 4-3 to terminate Katie Rinderle. The board took that step after the public school teacher in 2023 read _My Shadow Is Purple_ to her fifth-grade class. The court decision follows the Georgia Board of Education, which also upheld the firing.\n\n_My Shadow is Purple_ , a picture book by Scott Stuart, is about a child whose father has a blue shadow and whose mother has a pink one, but their own shadow is purple, a metaphor for gender fluidity. A description on Amazon states: “This story considers gender beyond binary in a vibrant spectrum of color.”\n\n**Related** : Instructor who gave U of Oklahoma student a zero on anti-trans paper removed from teaching \n\n**Related** : Oklahoma University instructor suspended for failing student’s unscientific anti-trans psychology essay\n\nBut that’s the sort of message that can get a teacher fired in the Peach state. Rinderle, though, still has the ability to continue her court fight and appeal the decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals by April 1, according to Atlanta’s Fox affiliate WAGA.\n\nDuring her legal proceedings, Rinderle said students in the class chose the book to read from a selection of titles she had picked up at a school book fair. But courts found Rinderle violated district policies.\n\n**Related** : Virginia school board settles lawsuit with students accused of harassing trans classmate\n\nLegal representation for Rinderle has said the decision was wrong and went against recommendations from a team of professional educators.\n\n“I am disappointed in the district’s decision to terminate me for reading an inclusive and affirming book – one that is representative of diverse student identities,” Rinderle previously said in a statement.",
  "title": "Georgia court upholds firing of teacher who read LGBTQ+ book to class"
}