Texas Border Business
This article is based on reporting by The Texas Tribune
A major Texas teachers’ union has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the Texas Education Agency from investigating educators over social media posts related to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to The Texas Tribune, the union argues that the investigations violate teachers’ First Amendment rights and amount to retaliation for protected speech.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers filed the lawsuit on Jan. 6 against Education Commissioner Mike Morath and the Texas Education Agency. The suit asks a federal court to stop ongoing investigations tied to educators’ personal online comments and to require Morath to withdraw guidance urging school districts to report “inappropriate” posts about Kirk’s death.
After Kirk was shot and killed last year while speaking at a Utah college, the agency received hundreds of complaints accusing educators of offensive online remarks. The Tribune reported that as of early January, the agency said it was still reviewing 95 complaints, while hundreds of others had been dismissed or found unsubstantiated.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a conservative group active on college campuses. As reported by the Tribune, supporters viewed him as a free speech advocate, while critics pointed to statements they considered offensive toward LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, women, and people of color. Following his death, some Texas lawmakers and activists called for educators who mocked or celebrated the killing online to be fired.
Morath told superintendents that the agency would review documentation of educators who shared what he called “vile content” to determine whether it violated the educator code of ethics, according to the Tribune. Morath and Gov. Greg Abbott have said that speech that calls for or incites violence could result in license suspension.
The lawsuit highlights four teachers who, according to the union, faced termination, investigations, or negative employment records for private social media posts that did not disrupt school operations. The union also argues that the state did not issue similar guidance after the killings of Democratic Minnesota lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman, raising concerns about selective enforcement.
The Texas Education Agency declined to comment on the lawsuit. In earlier remarks cited by the Tribune, Morath said there is a difference between comments made in poor taste and those that incite violence, adding that only the latter justify disciplinary action. Legal experts told the Tribune that punishing educators for personal speech without evidence of disruption could violate the First Amendment.
