A federal lawsuit has been filed against the state of Texas by the Texas American Federation of Teachers, a major union representing approximately 66,000 public school employees. The lawsuit challenges what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The teachers' union argues that the investigations, sparked by a letter from Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, are a sweeping crackdown on constitutionally protected speech. Morath had instructed school superintendents to report educators who made what he termed "reprehensible and inappropriate" remarks about Kirk, despite the educators posting from personal accounts outside of work hours and without disrupting school operations.
The union claims that this directive has unfairly targeted teachers over their free speech protections, with four cases cited in the lawsuit where educators faced discipline ranging from termination to formal investigations for making social media posts criticizing Kirk's right-wing positions. The lawsuits argues that these punishments were unwarranted and placed undue burden on educators, who should not be penalized simply for exercising their First Amendment rights.
The Texas Education Agency has received over 350 complaints about educators' social media activity related to Kirk's death, with 95 remaining under investigation as of Sunday. However, hundreds of complaints have been dismissed or found unsubstantiated. The union is seeking a court ruling that the investigation policy is unconstitutional and requesting an immediate stop to all related probes.
The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages but seeks corrective guidance from Morath, clarifying that districts do not need to report comments made by educators. The Texas Education Agency has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The teachers' union argues that the investigations, sparked by a letter from Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, are a sweeping crackdown on constitutionally protected speech. Morath had instructed school superintendents to report educators who made what he termed "reprehensible and inappropriate" remarks about Kirk, despite the educators posting from personal accounts outside of work hours and without disrupting school operations.
The union claims that this directive has unfairly targeted teachers over their free speech protections, with four cases cited in the lawsuit where educators faced discipline ranging from termination to formal investigations for making social media posts criticizing Kirk's right-wing positions. The lawsuits argues that these punishments were unwarranted and placed undue burden on educators, who should not be penalized simply for exercising their First Amendment rights.
The Texas Education Agency has received over 350 complaints about educators' social media activity related to Kirk's death, with 95 remaining under investigation as of Sunday. However, hundreds of complaints have been dismissed or found unsubstantiated. The union is seeking a court ruling that the investigation policy is unconstitutional and requesting an immediate stop to all related probes.
The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages but seeks corrective guidance from Morath, clarifying that districts do not need to report comments made by educators. The Texas Education Agency has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
this is getting out of hand - educators making personal comments about politics on social media and suddenly they're facing termination or investigations? that's just not right 
shouldn't the state be worried about what educators say online when they're not on the clock?
i'm all for protecting our rights and all but this is just ridiculous
maybe this will help clarify things and prevent similar situations in the future 
I mean, I get it, someone gets killed and everyone's all upset... but come on! Teachers are being unfairly targeted over their free speech rights 
. I've got kids who are 10 years old and they're already learning about the importance of freedom of expression. We need to protect our teachers from having their voices silenced by some politician's directive 
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It's not like they were posting from work accounts or disrupting school operations. And what's next? Are we going to start firing teachers for having opinions? 
. We need to stand up for our teachers and make sure they're not being treated unfairly 
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I think this whole situation is getting out of hand 
. But instead of being protected under the First Amendment, they're being targeted and investigated by the state 
. It's like they're being punished for exercising their freedom to speak up 
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. I mean, what's next? Are we going to start monitoring people's online activity all the time? 
. That tells me there might be some political agendas at play here 
. Anyway, the whole thing stinks 
. We need to protect our educators' freedom of speech and ensure they're not being bullied by the state 
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over it . like who cares about what some right wing guy says , anyway? 
which basically means anyone can get in trouble for having an opinion they don't agree with . that's not how free speech works fam 
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It's not like those educators were hurting anyone with their comments. This whole thing just feels like a big overreach by the state government. 
I hope the court rules in favor of the teachers' union and sets some clear guidelines for what's acceptable online activity. 
I MEAN, COME ON! IF WE CAN'T MAKE MISTAKES OR SPEAK OUR MINDS WITHOUT FEAR OF RETALIATION, WE'LL NEVER BE FREE TO EXPRESS OURSELVES! The fact that these educators were disciplined for just expressing their opinions is RIDICULOUS. It's like they're saying that as long as you're not hurting anyone else, you can't say anything that might be uncomfortable or unpopular. I don'T THINK SO!!! 
Shouldn't they be able to say whatever they want without fear of getting in trouble with the state? It feels like the state is trying to control what people can and can't say... not cool, right? 
And I mean, I get that some comments might have been super hurtful or inflammatory, but shouldn't we be focusing on actual harm instead of just "inappropriate" opinions? 
These teachers aren't hurting anyone with their comments; they're exercising their right to free speech, and that's something we should be celebrating, not restricting. 
The fact that hundreds of complaints have been dismissed or found unsubstantiated just goes to show that this is all a big overreaction. It's time for the state of Texas to chill out and let people express themselves without fear of persecution! 
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. Maybe we'll get some clarity on what's acceptable and what's not 
. It's like, I get that Charlie Kirk was a conservative activist and all, but we shouldn't be punishing people for having differing opinions 
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teachers should be able to express themselves without fear of reprisal, especially when it comes to politics! 
we need to protect free speech, even if it's uncomfortable for some people 
schools should focus on teachin' rather than policing ppl's social media life