{"id":32828,"date":"2026-09-04T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T19:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=32828"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T19:52:10","slug":"nashville-school-removes-lgbt-themed-books-after-christian-teachers-religious-liberty-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/09\/nashville-school-removes-lgbt-themed-books-after-christian-teachers-religious-liberty-dispute","title":{"rendered":"Nashville School Removes LGBT-Themed Books After Christian Teacher’s Religious Liberty Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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First Liberty Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Nashville charter school network has removed books featuring LGBT themes from its elementary school libraries, months after a Christian teacher was disciplined for refusing to read a book about same-sex parents to his first-grade class.<\/p>\n

The decision by KIPP Nashville marks the latest development in a dispute<\/a> involving teacher Eric Rivera, whose objections to the classroom material sparked a religious-liberty challenge earlier this year.<\/p>\n

First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal organization that represented Rivera, announced<\/a> that KIPP Nashville had removed books referencing same-sex marriage from its elementary school libraries.<\/p>\n

“We are thrilled that KIPP Nashville voluntarily removed books that could run afoul of parents’ rights under the Constitution and Tennessee law,” First Liberty senior counsel Cliff Martin said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“It is paramount that religious views be respected in schools,” he added.<\/p>\n

The controversy began after Rivera, who taught at KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School, declined to read a children’s book featuring same-sex parents to his first-grade students.<\/p>\n

According to First Liberty, Rivera believed reading the book would conflict with his sincerely held Christian beliefs. He requested a religious accommodation but was denied and received what the organization described as a “final warning letter” in February.<\/p>\n

First Liberty then sent a demand letter<\/a> to the school arguing that Rivera’s religious beliefs were protected and that allowing another employee to read the material would provide a reasonable accommodation.<\/p>\n

“Mr. Rivera’s sincerely held religious beliefs are protected under the First Amendment,” the letter stated. “Thus, he was within his rights to request a reasonable accommodation.”<\/p>\n

The organization also argued that teachers should be permitted to opt out of curriculum they find religiously objectionable when doing so does not create an undue hardship for the school.<\/p>\n

Following the demand letter, KIPP Nashville agreed to clear Rivera’s disciplinary record and accommodate reasonable religious requests. First Liberty said the school also agreed to “permit all teachers to ask another employee to read materials objectionable to their faith.”<\/p>\n

Now, months later, First Liberty says KIPP Nashville has gone a step further by removing books referencing same-sex marriage from its elementary school libraries.<\/p>\n

The case comes amid broader debates nationwide over how public and charter schools handle books addressing sexuality, gender and family structures, as well as how schools balance curriculum decisions with parental rights and employees’ religious-liberty protections.<\/p>\n

For Rivera, the latest decision gives families more information and greater ability to make their own choices.<\/p>\n

“I am really glad that the parents who have kids at KIPP now have all the information they need to choose what’s best for their kids,” he told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

The outcome also highlights a question facing schools across the country: how to navigate disagreements over sensitive classroom materials while respecting the rights and deeply held beliefs of teachers, students and parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Nashville charter school network has removed books featuring LGBT themes from its elementary school libraries, months after a Christian teacher was disciplined for refusing to read a book about same-sex parents to his first-grade class. The decision by KIPP Nashville marks the latest development in a dispute involving teacher Eric Rivera, whose objections to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":32831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNashville School Removes LGBT-Themed Books After Christian Teacher's Religious Liberty Dispute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nashville charter school removes LGBT-themed books months after a Christian teacher was disciplined for refusing to read one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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