A Christian teacher said he sought a religious exemption when he was ordered to read an LGBTQ book to his first-graders, and he was threatened with termination instead.
Eric Rivera told WZTV-TV that the book conflicted with his religious beliefs because it depicted a girl being raised by two fathers.
'I believe that that is not what God designed a marriage to be and a family to be.'
Rivera said that initially the KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School where he taught offered to allow him a co-teacher to read the book to the children and then called him into the principal's office.
That's where he was allegedly given a "final warning" to teach the book or lose his job.
"I refused to read a book that had two fathers on the cover and one daughter," he explained. "I believe that that is not what God designed a marriage to be and a family to be."
The book is titled, "Stella Brings the Family," by Miriam B. Schiffer.
He claims that he had no prior disciplinary history before the LGBTQ incident. He was reassigned to teach technology before he was moved yet again to teach kindergarten.
"I still have the fear in me that I could lose my job for anything that I do based on my religious beliefs," Rivera added.
The teacher is now represented by the First Liberty Institute, which sent a demand letter to the school asking for an accommodation based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It was sent Feb. 17 and gave the school 10 days to respond.
The institute also expressed concerns that parents may not have been properly informed about the LGBTQ lesson, but WZTV said that accusation was not yet independently verified.
The teacher wants to return to teaching first grade but refuses to teach the lesson.
"I just want the whole curriculum to be shown to the parents in a way where they can actually understand," Rivera said.
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The charter school falls under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Charter School Commission, which released a statement to WZTV.
"All public charter schools must follow the same Tennessee academic standards as traditional public schools, and while they do have flexibility selecting curriculum and materials, they must still be aligned with those same state standards," the commission said in its statement.
"All schools are required to comply with the prohibited concepts law and must provide a form on their website for reporting violations," it added. "The Commission provides a form for submitting complaints related to the prohibited concepts law as well as any other violations of charter school law on our website. Teachers and staff at charter schools are employees of the school or charter operator and as such all personnel matters are handled by the school."
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