School district bans kids from singing Dolly Parton & Miley Cyrus song because it mentions rainbows

A class of Waukesha, Wisconsin first graders was banned from singing songs about rainbows at their spring concert, and parents say it’s because rainbows are associated with LGBTQ+ people.

The Heyer Elementary school class was slated to perform Miley Cyrus and Dolly Paron’s 2017 collaboration, “Rainbowland,” a song that imagines a world where everyone is accepted for who they are. But the school said no.

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The teacher, Melissa Tempel, tweeted on Tuesday that her students were “so excited” to sing the song, but that it was “vetoed by our administration” with “no reason given.”

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“When will it end?” Tempel asked, also including a screenshot of some of the lyrics to the song. “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise / Where we’re free to be exactly who we are / Let’s all dig deep inside / Brush the judgment and fear aside / Make wrong things right / And end the fight.”

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My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end? @waukeshaschools @DollyParton @MileyCyrus @mileyworld @gsafewi @CivilRights #publicschools pic.twitter.com/8Na0nETmDw

— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 21, 2023

Sarah Schindler, whose daughter is in Tempel’s class, told the Los Angeles Times that the decision to ban the song is the result of the “conservative flip” that the school board has undergone over the past few years.

Schindler said there have been policy changes causing controversy in the community, including “saying that teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political… Discussion of pronouns with students was another thing that came up. And teachers aren’t allowed to wear rainbows.”

Another Waukesha parent, Leigh Radichel Tracy, said that the district “has really cracked down on anything LGBTQ” and that the song being deemed controversial “has not in any way come as a surprise.”

In addition to “Rainbowland,” the school initially also banned the beloved children’s song “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit the Frog, but Tempel tweeted that it was “unbanned” after enough parents complained.

Rainbow Connection was unbanned today after parents sent emails to admin. Alliance for Education in Waukesha knows how to ally. I don’t know where I’d be without them.

— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 23, 2023

“Rainbowland,” however, remains off the table.

“All that Miley and Dolly are saying is that they want to live in a world that is accepting, with no judgment and where people can be who they want to be,” Tracy told the Times. “It’s so sad that this is seen as a ‘controversial issue’ by the School District of Waukesha. It’s a song about a beautiful place of acceptance.”