A first-grade teacher in Waukesha County, Wisconsin has responded after the Heyer Elementary School administration banned students from singing "Rainbowland" by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton at a spring concert. The teacher, Melissa Tempel, responded to the school's decision on Twitter.
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"My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?" she wrote, tagging the Waukesha School District.
Tempel also shared the lyrics of the song, which read as following: "Living in a Rainbowland / Where everything goes as planned / And I smile / 'Cause I know if we try, we could really make a difference in this world / I won't give up, I'll sleep a wink / It's the only thought I think, you know where I stand/ I believe we can start living in a Rainbowland."
According to People, the song was banned from the concert after the school principal and administration labeled it as "controversial," citing the school's Controversial Issues in the Classroom policy. The policy includes subjects "on which opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion; which may be the subject of intense public argument, disagreement or disapproval; which may have political, social or personal impacts on students and/or the community; and which is likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community."
The Muppets song, "Rainbow Connection," was also reportedly nixed by the school, but the ban was lifted after emails from parents and support from the Alliance for Education.
"This is the most recent decision by a school district administration intent on stifling the diversity and denying equality to the community it serves, further ostracizing Waukesha in the eyes of the nation," said Becky Gilligan of the Alliance for Education in a statement to People.
