By HARM VENHUIZEN | Associated Press/Report for America
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school blocked a first-grader class from performing a duet by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton that promoted LGBTQ acceptance because the song “could be perceived as controversial.”
Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha had prepared a rendition of “Rainbowland” for their spring concert, but school officials dropped the song from the cast last week. Parents in the district say the decision was made because the song promotes LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows.
Superintendent James Sebert, who didn’t immediately call back on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it “may not be appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.” He also cited a school board policy against raising controversial issues in classrooms.
Sebert previously banned the display of rainbows and pride flags in Waukesha classrooms and suspended the school district’s work on equity and diversity in 2021.
“Let’s all dig deep, put aside judgment and fear,” reads the song off Cyrus’ 2017 album Younger Now. “Living in a rainbow land where you and I walk hand in hand. Oh I’d be lying if I said it’s okay, all the pain and hate that’s going on here.”
First grade teacher Melissa Tempel said she chose the song because its message seemed universal and sweet. The theme of the class concert was “The World” and included other songs such as “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles and “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.
“My students were just devastated. They really liked that song and we had already started singing it,” Tempel said Monday.
Administrators also initially banned The Muppets’ song “Rainbow Connection,” but later reversed that decision, according to Tempel.
Parents were upset about the song’s removal, Tempel said. However, she was more concerned about what the ban and other district policies against expressing LGBTQ support meant for students.
“These confusing messages about rainbows ultimately create a culture that seems insecure about queer people,” she said.
Representatives for Parton and Cyrus did not immediately respond to emails Monday asking the artists their thoughts on the ban.
Wisconsin school board races, including in Waukesha, have become increasingly partisan in recent years. Republicans recorded big wins in the state’s school board races in 2022 and have used the positions to question policies from rules for transgender children to COVID-19 restrictions.
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Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that brings journalists into local newsrooms to cover undercover topics. Follow Venhuizen on Twitter.