KIPP Nashville, a charter school network, has removed books with LGBT themes from its elementary school libraries. This action follows a dispute involving a teacher who was disciplined for refusing to read a book featuring same-sex parents to his first-grade class.
Months after the incident, the school voluntarily removed the books, according to the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal organization representing the teacher, Eric Rivera. Cliff Martin, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, stated that the removal is a positive development for parents' rights.
Rivera, who taught at KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School, received a final warning letter in February after requesting a religious accommodation to avoid reading the book. First Liberty Institute argued that Rivera's sincerely held religious beliefs, protected under the First Amendment, entitled him to a reasonable accommodation.
Following a demand letter from First Liberty, KIPP Nashville reached an agreement to clear Rivera's record. The school also agreed to accommodate teachers who object to reading specific curriculum materials on religious grounds, allowing them to ask another employee to read such materials. Rivera expressed his satisfaction that parents would now have more information to make decisions for their children.
KIPP Nashville operates 10 schools in Nashville, serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade.