NEW RICHMOND, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio public school teacher is taking her district to court after she was suspended for having books in her class library with LGBTQ+ characters.

Karen Cahall, a New Richmond Exempted Village School District teacher for more than 30 years, says Superintendent Tracey Miller suspended her for three days without pay for having four books with LGBTQ+ characters in her third-grade classroom. Cahall said these books were among 100 other books and were not displayed prominently in the classroom.

“Cahall maintained these books in her classroom in furtherance of her sincerely held moral and religious beliefs that all children, including children who are LGBTQ+ or the children of parents who are LGBTQ+, deserve to be respected, accepted, and loved for who they are,” the suit filed Dec. 2 in the Southern District of Ohio said.

The four books — “Ana On The Edge” by A.J. Sass, “The Fabulous Zed Watson” by Basil Sylvester, “Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea” by Ashley Herring Blake, and “Too Bright to See” by Kyle Lukoff — were not required reading for students as Cahall did not include them within her instructional programming, the suit said.

Cahall argued that none of the four books could be described as “obscene” or “offensive,” and that none described sexual conduct or activity. The books “deal with characters who are LGBTQ+ and are coming to terms with feeling different,” the filing said.

Miller and the district’s board of education did not respond to NBC4’s request for comment. The suit said Miller suspended Cahall under a policy the board adopted in 2009 that aims to govern “controversial issues” discussed during “instructional programs.”

The suit is challenging the policy’s constitutionality, arguing it fails to outline what materials a New Richmond teacher is allowed to have in their classroom and does not define what constitutes a “controversial issue.” Cahall noted that other teachers have publicly displayed “insignias and symbols of their religious beliefs in the presence of students.”

Miller was informed after a parent named Kayla Shaw emailed the board on Oct. 30 regarding the four books in Cahall’s classroom. The email was forwarded to Miller, who “immediately commenced disciplinary proceedings” against Cahall, the suit said. After a pre-disciplinary hearing, Cahall was suspended on Nov. 6 for three days.

In a notification letter, Miller said that Cahall “knew the books were not acceptable because [Cahall] asked for them to be placed in the library and were denied. [Cahall] subsequently placed the books in [her] classroom library without putting them through the established approval process.”

The letter said this is why Miller believes Cahall’s actions were “intentional” and argued she should’ve understood “the values that many hold” based on her “experience in the community.”

“You may believe that some of the books listed above are appropriate for some of your students, but it is not for you to decide,” Miller said. “If you continue to behave in this manner in the future, you will be subjected to more severe discipline up to and including termination of your employment.”

Cahall argued that an unspoken understanding of “values that many hold” is belied by the fact many “are supportive of protecting LGBTQ+ students and families in the ‘community,'” the suit said. Cahall pointed to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment that prohibits the district from fostering one religious viewpoint over another.

“By using [New Richmond’s policy] to suspend [Cahall] … Miller unlawfully and with discriminatory intent determined that [Cahall’s] religious viewpoints and beliefs were unacceptable, in violation of the United States Constitution,” the suit said.

In addition to asking the court to declare New Richmond’s policy unconstitutional, Cahall is asking for compensatory and punitive damages. The district has yet to file its response.