The duet by Cyrus and Parton is banned by the Wisconsin school district

What the Ban on “Rainbowland” at Heyer Elementary School, Waukesha, Ohio, Last Thursday, January 21st, 2006

The first grade class at Heyer Elementary School had spent weeks preparing for their upcoming concert.

First-grade teacher Melissa Tempel said she chose the song because its message seemed universal and sweet. The class concert’s theme was “The World” and included some of the classics, such as “Here Comes the Sun,” by The Beatles, and “What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong.

After the ban on “Rainbowland” at Heyer Elementary, another faculty member suggested to replace it with “Rainbow Connection,” a song about hope and trying to achieve one’s dreams. But that song was initially banned, too, until parent members of the Alliance for Education in Waukesha addressed the ban with school staff, and administrators eventually reversed the ban, Tempel said.

Superintendent James Sebert, who did not immediately return a call on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.” He cited a policy by the school board against controversial issues being raised in classrooms.

The song “Let’s all dig down deep inside, brush the judgment and fear aside” is from Cyrus’ album “Younger Now”. “Living in a Rainbowland, where you and I go hand in hand. Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine, all the hurt and the hate going on here.”

“We’re trying to support inclusivity,” she said. Being who you are, and the love and acceptance piece, I think there is nothing political about that.

Sebert said some signage has been taken down in accordance with the policy that resulted in the “Rainbowland” ban, but did not specifically refer to signage with rainbows. He told CNN that the district has its own “Commitment to All” poster in both English and Spanish to reinforce that students are “respected,” “belong” and “have a voice.”

Earlier this year, the board in Waukesha County passed a resolution asking teachers to not use a student’s preferred nickname or pronouns if they haven’t received written approval from the student’s parent.

Earlier this year, USA Today reported that school districts in Delaware, Ohio and Wisconsin, among others, have banned faculty from displaying Pride flags. And school districts in states including Texas, Louisiana and Michigan have faced bans on books that include LGBTQ characters or topics.

In Kettle Moraine School District in Wisconsin, teachers who display Pride flags or use pronouns in their email signatures are no longer allowed, CNN reported last year.

Samantha Siebenaller, a parent whose child is in Tempel’s co-teacher’s class, praised Heyer Elementary faculty for “their dedication to creating an environment where inclusion thrives in spite of the Board.”

Siebenaller said in a statement that some Waukesha School Board members have “embarrassed our community … with their lack of commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”

She told CNN that making sure her students feel safe and supported at school is the most important thing to her.

MADISON, Wis. — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school stopped a first-grade class from performing a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because the song “could be perceived as controversial.”

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