Wisconsin teacher fired over 'Rainbowland' controversy sues

MILWAUKEE (CN)—A Wisconsin elementary school teacher fired this summer for criticizing her school district’s decision to ban kids from singing a song championing LGBTQ+ tolerance and inclusion at a school function filed a federal lawsuit over her termination on Tuesday.

In her complaint, Melissa Tempel claims the School District of Waukesha and district superintendent James Sebert violated her First Amendment rights by firing her from her job teaching first grade at Heyer Elementary School because of her post in March on X, formerly known as Twitter, lamenting that the district would not allow kids in kindergarten and first grade to sing the song “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton at a school concert.

At the time of the district’s action in March, district officials defended the decision by citing a district policy banning “controversial issues” from the classroom, saying the district and school staff “determined that the song could be deemed controversial under the policy.”

Tempel’s social media post from March 21 went viral, sparking nationwide headlines, intensified focus on the school district and its policies and a series of supportive posts on X from Cyrus’ nonprofit.

On April 3, Heyer’s principal and other school district employees informed her she was being put on administrative leave and had her escorted out of the elementary school by police, according to the complaint. Human resources staff with the district investigated the matter, and in May Sebert recommended Tempel be fired. The school board voted unanimously to terminate Tempel’s employment on July 12.

Tempel says her comments on the district’s “Rainbowland” decision were made as a private citizen during off-duty hours, making the district’s actions against her unconstitutional retaliation. She says that, before being fired, she never was the subject of disciplinary action and received “outstanding performance reviews” during her tenure dating to 2018.

Responding to a phone message requesting comment on Tempel’s lawsuit, Sebert said in an email on Tuesday that “we’ve learned of this development through media reaching out to us” and “we will work with legal counsel on next steps.”

Under Board Policy 2240, also called the “Controversial Issues in the Classroom Policy,” controversial issues include those “which may be the subject of intense public argument, disagreement or disapproval.” The policy goes on to elaborate when such issues will be permitted in classroom instruction, including if the issue “does not tend to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view” and “is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students engaged in the discussion,” among other things.

The policy appears to originate with Neola, a company that provides school policy services to 317 clients in Wisconsin in addition to more than 1,000 others across six states, according to the company’s website. A call to Neola’s business office in Ohio could not immediately reach a spokesperson who could answer questions about the lawsuit and the policy on Tuesday.

In her lawsuit, Tempel says that although Sebert announced in August 2021 that the policy would equally ban signs, flags and materials promoting causes like Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, signs saying “Students for Life” and “Thin Blue Line” were permitted to be displayed in school common areas while Gay-Straight Alliance locker signs and signs stating, “this classroom is anti-racist” and “this school welcomes you” were prohibited.

In July 2021, the district also suspended diversity, equity and inclusion training for staff and suspended the work of its Equity Leadership Team, according to the complaint.

In addition to outraged responses from hundreds of local parents, students, teachers and others who signed petitions and submitted public comments about the district’s policy, Tempel’s suit notes that 54 teachers resigned from the district in protest of the policy in June 2022.

Tempel is represented by attorneys with the Milwaukee office of Hawks Quindel, a firm that focuses on employment and labor law and workers’ legal rights.

The lyrics to “Rainbowland” include lines about acceptance and togetherness such as “We are rainbows, me and you/ Every color, every hue/ Let’s shine on through/ Together, we can start living in a Rainbowland.”

After the district told the music teacher who selected “Rainbowland” to pick a different song for the kids to sing at Heyer Elementary School’s spring concert, the song was ultimately replaced with “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog.

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