COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A book a Cobb County teacher says she bought at the school’s book fair could cost her her job.

Some parents were upset after Katie Rinderle read a book called “My Shadow is Purple” to her fifth-grade class.

A tribunal is now meeting to decide if Rinderle will get to keep her job.

The panel began hearing testimony Thursday morning.

The tribunal heard from witnesses, teachers, investigators and Rinderle herself. Some who don’t know her were there to show their support.

“I’m feeling for Katie a lot. I think she shows a great deal of courage. She was just trying to do her job,” Dora Curry with the Teachers for Freedom Collective said.

During cross-examination, Rinderle was asked to read the description of “My Shadow is Purple.”

“This story considers gender beyond binary and a broad spectrum of color,” she read.

The district says Rinderle violated district policy and Georgia’s divisive concepts law.

“This was a book that I purchased with my funds at the school’s book fair and I previewed the book and I used my professional judgment,” Rinderle said.

“We did establish that students were uncomfortable with the content that was discussed that day,” Christopher Dowd, Executive Director of Employee Relations and Evaluations testified.

During the hearing, Rinderle’s attorney said the district is not being transparent about what it found during the investigation, particularly the number of students who were interviewed.

“There’s no way for us to know that there’s four additional students. It’s just simply impossible that the district has insisted on giving us these redacted records,” attorney Craig Goodmark said.

The hearing resumes Friday morning.

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