A Wisconsin first-grade teacher is speaking out after many of the songs she selected for her students’ spring musical that had a rainbow theme were rejected.
Melissa Tempel, a dual language teacher at Heyer Elementary, blasted the School District of Waukesha County on Tuesday for its decision to forbid the songs “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton and “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie.
“Our management declined the request from my first-graders to sing “Rainbowland” at our spring concert, much to their delight. When will it finish? Tempel tweeted something.
James Sebert, the superintendent of Waukesha, and the administrator of the central office “decided that the song could be judged problematic,” as stated in the school’s Difficult Topics in the Classroom policy.
According to the policy, a topic is considered controversial if “opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion; may be the subject of intense public argument, disagreement, or disapproval; may have political, social, or personal impacts on students and/or the community; and is likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.”
Tempel asserted that Cyrus, 30, is “contentious,” which is why the song was removed from the radio, but she “felt for sure” that Parton’s reputation with drag queens and the LGBTQ community also played a role in the decision.
“Oh, well, I can’t stop them even if they keep singing “Rainbowland.” It’s a fun, entrancing song! She remained calm.
“Living in a Rainbowland / The skies are blue and everything is grand / Wouldn’t it be lovely to live in paradise / Where we’re free to be exactly who we are,” Tempel also released the lyrics to their 2017 collaboration, which is featured on Cyrus’ sixth studio album Younger Now.
Put the bad things right and end the conflict because, as I vow, no one will win, the song continues, “Let’s all dig down deep inside / Brush the judgment and fear aside.”
On Thursday, Tempel gave a status update, indicating that “Rainbow Connection” had been allowed to continue due to feedback from parents and the local Alliance for Education. She wrote, “I don’t know where I’d be without them.”
Alliance for Education representative Becky Gilligan tells PEOPLE in a statement that “this is the most recent action by a school district administration intent on suppressing the diversity and denying equity to the community it serves, further ostracizing Waukesha in the eyes of the nation.”
In place of “Rainbowland,” according to Sebert, “Rainbow Connection” will perform during the show.
Sarah Schindler, whose daughter is a student in Tempel’s class, claims that because of public outcry about COVID-19 regulations, the school board underwent a “conservative flip” in recent years.
“With it came some policy changes that have been causing some controversy in our community,” says Schindler. “One of them is a disputed policy that prevents instructors from posting any signage that can be perceived as political. Kids and pronoun controversy was another topic that came up. Moreover, instructors are not allowed to wear rainbow clothing.
In its nondiscrimination policy, the School District of Waukesha clearly names “sexual orientation” as one of the protected groups, claiming that it “does not discriminate in its admissions, programs, activities, services, or employment” on any grounds that are prohibited by federal law.
Immediately after H.B., Some states passed laws making it illegal for instructors to address matters of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children, including Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, in March of last year.
The Human Rights Campaign reports that as of last month, 340 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation were being introduced nationwide for 2023, which is a record.
