Florida’s Department of Education commissioner Thursday warned public educators to watch what they say online about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — or else prepare for an investigation into their professional conduct.
“It has been brought to my attention that some Florida educators have posted despicable comments on social media regarding the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk,” commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, a right-wing appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis, wrote in a memo emailed to Florida’s school superintendents Thursday.
“These few are not a reflection of the great, high-quality teachers who make up the vast majority of Florida’s educators,” he continued. “Nevertheless, I will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”
The threat of investigation came less than a day after the on-campus fatal shooting of Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The shooting, believed to be politically motivated, is currently under investigation by the FBI.
Commissioner Kamoutsas did not share examples in his memo to school superintendents of any teachers who have shared “despicable comments” about Kirk following his murder. The Florida Department of Education, when reached for comment, similarly declined to offer examples.
“The Commissioner intends to conduct an investigation of every educator who engages in misconduct and posts vile inappropriate messages about this current situation,” Department of Education press secretary Nathalia Medina told Orlando Weekly in an email. “If an investigation determines that these teachers should not be [in a] classroom based on their behavior, the Commissioner will use all of his power to hold these educators responsible up to and including revoking their educator certificate.”
Kamoutsas acknowledged in his memo that, while Florida educators do have free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution, “these rights do not extend without limit into their professional duties.” What an educator posts online publicly, he added, “may undermine the trust of the students and families that they serve.”
The memo states that Florida law allows Florida’s education commissioner “to find probable cause to discipline an educator who, ‘upon investigation, has been found guilty of personal conduct that seriously reduces that person’s effectiveness as an employee of the district school board.’”
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union representing more than 120,000 public school teachers and school staff, shared in response to the memo that the union “is here to support the rights of every educator across the state, and we will not stand quiet while educators are tried in the court of public opinion instead of receiving the due process they deserve.”
“Allowing threats and threatening those in our public school communities is counterproductive,” the union shared in a statement. “As a union, we have always, and will always, stand for bringing people together. Now is the time to unite for safer, stronger communities for every American.”
The statement did not mention Kirk or Kamoutsas by name, referencing only “recent social media discourse.” The union and Florida’s education commissioner have sparred or otherwise been at odds over several issues, including teacher pay, instructional materials used by teachers in classrooms and COVID-19 precautions.
“Florida’s school union has fought against parental rights at every step — from supporting sexually explicit materials in classrooms to endorsing discrimination based on race. They even sued us to prevent schools from reopening after Covid,” Kamoutsas wrote in a post on X earlier this month, quote-tweeting FEA President Andrew Spar. “Despite their efforts, Florida remains the nation’s leader in parents’ rights. The union is led by political hacks who no one takes seriously,” Kamoutsas said.
According to Florida’s Voice, a right-wing news organization, a teacher in Clay County has already been suspended over allegedly celebrating the death of Kirk in a social media post. The post, however, no longer appears to be public and thus is not verifiable by Weekly staff.
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