Rainbow-Themed Songs Banned, Including Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's song from School Concert

A first-grade teacher from Wisconsin took her frustration on social media following the banning of multiple rainbow-themed songs from her students' upcoming spring concert.

A dual language teacher at Heyer Elementary, Melissa Tempel, called out the board of education of Waukesha County Tuesday on Twitter over its decision to ban Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's "Rainbowland" song and the Muppet Movie classic "Rainbow Connection."

In her post, which was a photo of the lyrics of the song Rainbowland, Tempel captioned, "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?"

School is 'stifling diversity and denying equality'

The teacher further revealed that the decision to ban Cyrus and Parton's song was based on the "controversial" status of singer Cyrus. However, Tempel does not believe this, stating that she "thought for sure" it was because of Parton's popularity and connection with drag queens and the LGBTQ community.

She also declared that if the song was banned from the school's concert, it does not mean she could stop her students from still singing it as it is a "fun, catchy song!"

Tempel gave an update Thursday, stating that "Rainbow Connection" was back on the list of songs that will be performed in the concert after parents and the local group Alliance for Education sent the school emails about the issue.

In a statement, Becky Gilligan of the Alliance for Education expressed that they will continue to advocate for a "safe and productive learning environment for all Waukesha students" and to foster a "collaborative and constructive work environment" for all teachers and staff. She further cited that this particular issue is a school district administration's most recent intentional step to stifle diversity and deny equality to the community it serves, which is "further ostracizing Waukesha in the eyes of the nation."

School District of Waukesha: They do not discriminate

Sarah Schindler, a mother of one of Tempel's students, informed the Los Angeles Times that the school board has been going through a "conservative flip" process in recent years, mostly because of the local outcry over the pandemic policies.

According to Schindler, policy changes have been stirring "controversy" in the community since then. She highlighted three of the most controversial policies. One was prohibiting teachers from putting signages that "could be deemed political," another was the discussions of pronouns with students, and the third was restricting teachers from wearing rainbows.

However, a nondiscrimination statement from the Waukesha School District emphasized that they do not discriminate in their admission, programs and activities, and services and employment.

People magazine tried to ask for the School District of Waukesha Supt. James Sebert's response over the recent issue, but the latter has not provided any comment.