A teacher who spoke out after her students were banned from singing 'Rainbowland' by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus has been fired

• Wisconsin teacher Melissa Tempel was fired after speaking out over her school's "Rainbowland" ban.

• Tempel wanted her students to sing the song by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus at the school concert.

• The district determined that the song, which is about acceptance, was too controversial.

A Wisconsin school board unanimously voted to fire the teacher who spoke out after her first-grade students weren't allowed to sing "Rainbowland," a song by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus, at a school concert.

Melissa Tempel, a teacher at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, made headlines in March when she tweeted that the song had been banned from the school's spring concert.

"Rainbowland," which was written by both Parton and Cyrus, is a song about acceptance.

"Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise / Where we're free to be exactly who we are," one of the lyrics reads. "Let's all dig down deep inside / Brush the judgment and fear aside / Make wrong things right, and end the fight."

In an interview with Insider in April, Tempel said she decided to speak up because she just "can't not say anything anymore."

"If I have to lose my job, then at least I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I stuck up for kids," she added.

Tempel was placed on administrative leave in April. Jill Underly, the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction, then urged Waukesha School District Superintendent James Sebert to reevaluate the teacher's suspension.

"Toxicity undoubtedly contributes to teachers leaving the profession, and we cannot afford to lose our educator workforce to misguided choices made in the name of student protection," she wrote, according to The Washington Post.

Instead, following an internal investigation, Sebert recommended that Tempel be fired due to her "inappropriate" and "disruptive" tweet. In a statement sent to Insider in April, Sebert said the school's principal had determined that "Rainbowland" could be "deemed controversial" in accordance with the district policy regarding "Controversial Issues in the Classroom."

On Wednesday, the School District of Waukesha's Board of Education agreed with Sebert and made Tempel's termination official.

Summer Murshid, Tempel's attorney, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the teacher "looks forward to vindicating her rights in federal court."

"This is not a case about culture wars or rainbows. It's a case about constitutional rights, and Miss Tempel has them like every other person in this country," she added.

Dave Dringenburg, a member of the parental advocacy group Alliance for Education in Waukesha, told the Washington Post that the board's decision wasn't "truly representative of the opinions of a majority of Waukesha residents."

"While Ms. Tempel was terminated in part for being 'disruptive,' the board's inconsistent implementation of policy has led the district to years of disruption in our schools and community," he added.

The "Rainbowland" ban has shone a light on other recent policy changes at the district, including banning teachers from wearing rainbow lanyards.

After finding out she had been officially fired, Tempel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she had a message for her students.

"I really miss you guys and love you and wanted to be there with you this year," she added. "I hope that we get to see each other really soon."

Representatives for the School District of Waukesha's Board of Education, Tempel, Parton, and Cyrus did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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