Friend,

Our school district just fired my daughter's 4th-grade teacher for teaching a children's book about acceptance. Seriously.

Katie Rinderle was an experienced educator at our daughters' elementary school in Marietta, Georgia. She had just been promoted to teach the school's high-achieving and gifted 1st through 5th graders. She consistently shepherded some of the school's top-performing students and received rave reviews from her colleagues.

But after she taught her students the best-selling, critically-acclaimed book, My Shadow Is Purple, she became the first teacher fired under HB 1084: Georgia's new “divisive concepts” law.

Teachers shouldn't have to worry they will lose their job because they read a children's book that encourages their students to be kind and accepting of one another.

Please take a few minutes to read up on this developing story and share it with your friends, and I will follow up with action items as soon as possible.

My heart is broken. We place so many burdens on our educators, administrator, and staff while chronically under-resourcing our public schools.

Make no mistake: The so-called "divisive concepts" law is a politically-motivated attack on free speech, our educators, and public education – created and passed by Republican legislators in gerrymandered districts that all but guarantee they will face no accountability from voters.

The new law politicizes education. It tears at the fabric of our communities. In short, it's a microcosm for everything wrong with politics today.

I'm not the only one who feels this way. Our community is already mobilizing to respond to this chilling act of censorship and abuse of power.

But we need all of you to help spread the word. Read this story and share it with your friends on social media to keep it from getting buried.

The school district has not said what "divisive concept" included in My Shadow Is Purple was grounds for termination.

If this firing goes unchallenged, this story will repeat itself across the state, and this culture of fear and censorship will spread.

As Ms. Rinderle said: "Censorship is not only a threat to our students, teachers, and public school classrooms – but to our democracy at its core."

Since this news broke late Thursday, parents and educators across my community have been organizing a response. I will keep you updated via email and Twitter.

In the meantime, please help me make sure this story doesn't get buried! Read the full story, and share it with your friends on social media.

Thank you for everything you do,

– Sarah

P.S. Ironically, our daughter's favorite assignment in Ms. Rinderle's class was reading Ban This Book, about a 'well-meaning' parent who creates chaos by having a book removed from a school library. Our kids deserve an education that teaches them to think critically. Let's fight for them.