Court: Teacher Fired Over Dolly/Miley Song Can Sue

Courthouse News reports:

A federal court in Wisconsin declined to dismiss a teacher’s First Amendment retaliation claim against the school district that fired her for publishing a tweet critical of its decision to prohibit her first-graders from singing “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton at a school concert. She has shown that her employment was terminated for exercising her First Amendment rights, so her claim survives the motion.

Read the full article.

A Wisconsin school board has banned the song “Rainbowland” by Dolly Parton & Miley Cyrus from a concert because they say the lyrics are “controversial.” The song says, “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise… where we’re free to be exactly who we are.” https://t.co/I5GRTpv44P

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) March 24, 2023

First-grade teacher @melissatempel was fired last week after she publicly criticized the Waukesha, Wisconsin, board of education for not allowing students to sing the song “Rainbowland,” citing a “controversial content policy.” “It was really horrifying,” says Tempel. pic.twitter.com/8wQzukuNFq

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) July 20, 2023