Lawsuit: Texas Went After Teachers for Charlie Kirk Comments

A major Texas teachers union is taking the state to federal court over how officials responded to educators' online remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was killed in September. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Austin, the state arm of the American Federation of Teachers says the Texas Education Agency violated teachers' First Amendment rights by ordering investigations into social media posts made mostly on personal accounts and not during school hours, reports the New York Times. The suit calls the state's approach an "unconstitutional viewpoint-based restriction on speech." The complaint names the TEA and its commissioner, Mike Morath, as defendants.

Following Kirk's death on Sept. 10, Morath told superintendents the agency had seen "reprehensible" and "vile" posts from educators and instructed the school leaders to report other "inappropriate" content that might violate the state's educator code of ethics. Gov. Greg Abbott later said more than 100 teachers "whose actions called for or incite violence" were under investigation after Kirk's murder. According to the TEA, more than 300 complaints have been filed, with 95 investigations still open. The agency declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The union accuses the state of Texas of a "wave of retaliation," per the AP. It says the probes have already led to firings in at least two Houston-area districts, with other educators placed on a "do not hire" list typically used for those accused of serious criminal misconduct, per the Times. The suit seeks to block the state from revoking teaching certificates or continuing its current investigations.

Education Week notes that school and political leaders in at least three other states—Florida, Oklahoma, and Indiana—are similarly threatening to revoke teaching certificates over Kirk comments. National AFT President Randi Weingarten, backing the case in Austin, argued, however, that even offensive statements are protected: "You can't have First Amendment rights for some and not for all."