Remember September last year when hundreds of educators across the nation were facing firing or disciplinary actions for posting personal comments about the death of Charlie Kirk?
The rash and reactionary decisions by school boards, superintendents and university presidents have come back to bite many of them. It turns out, most of those teachers did have First Amendment rights to free speech after all. Even though the evangelicals who supported Kirk wanted to silence all criticism of him, doing so came at a high cost.
Courts have consistently ruled — or threatened to rule — in favor of the teachers, who are winning financial settlements, returning to work or pursuing ongoing federal lawsuits over First Amendment violations.
After Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, hundreds of teachers across the country faced suspensions, investigations and terminations due to social media posts critical of him shared during non-working hours.
According to NBC News, public universities and school districts already have paid out more than $2.7 million in collective settlements to resolve free speech lawsuits brought by disciplined staff.
Some examples:
- Tamar Shirinian was an assistant professor at the former University of Tennessee. She secured a $1.9 million settlement after the university attempted to discipline her for posts criticizing Kirk.
- Michelle Mickens is a former Georgia Teacher of the Year finalist who was disciplined by Oglethorpe County School District. She settled her federal lawsuit against the district for nearly $300,000.
- Melisa Crook was an Iowa high school teacher disciplined for calling Kirk’s death “a blessing.” She got a $145,000 settlement from Creston Community School District.
- Joshua Bregy is a climate scientist at Clemson University who was terminated for a post concerning “swift karma” catching up with Kirk. Now he’s secured a public reinstatement and a confidential settlement.
Mike Morath
Nowhere were the attacks on public school teachers more widespread than in Texas, where Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath urged local school districts to report instances of educators sharing inappropriate content online to his agency. That resulted in 350 complaints to the state and at least 280 teachers being investigated.
The Texas AFT filed suit, arguing the state’s crackdown created a vague, unconstitutional policy that unfairly targeted off-duty speech.
Now, Texas Monthly has published a lengthy analysis of the fallout that reports: “More than six months after Kirk’s death, it appears the discipline Texas politicians promised hasn’t gone very far. All but two of the 350 complaints against teachers had been dismissed as of an April, according to the testimony of Keith Ingram, an attorney with the Office of the Attorney General. “
Texas Monthly points out that Morath, the state leader in Texas, has been inconsistent in his quest to protect teachers: “In 2019, a Fort Worth English teacher asked President Trump for help removing the illegals’ from Fort Worth’s school system. She was fired. Morath said that her tweet was protected by the First Amendment, that the school district had overstepped, and that she should be reinstated. Later, courts upheld her firing.”
Some unknown number of teachers who were fired for commenting online about Kirk’s death have not appealed their terminations and have not taken legal actions against their former employers. Yet teachers who challenged their sanctions or dismissals largely appear to have been victorious, especially when backed by teacher unions.
Related:
Can employers fire employees for their Charlie Kirk posts? | Analysis by Mark Wingfield
How Charlie Kirk went from college dropout to Trump influencer | Analysis by Mara Richards Bim
Teachers union sues Texas over Kirk-related investigations
The First Amendment is for we, not just thee | Opinion by Mark Wingfield