Deadline Legal Blog-Texas teachers union sues over Charlie Kirk-related speech investigations

[LetMyPeopleVote]

A new lawsuit says teachers “were disciplined solely for their speech, without any regard to whether the posts disrupted school operations in any way.”

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/charlie-kirk-texas-teachers-union-lawsuit-free-speech

Since Charlie Kirk’s killing in September, employers across the country have taken action against employees who have spoken about the conservative activist in ways the employers don’t like. To the extent that Kirk has been eulogized as a free-speech advocate, it’s an ill-fitting legacy.

The latest lawsuit seeking to counter that suppression and retaliation comes from the Texas American Federation of Teachers. The union is suing the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, over alleged First Amendment violations.

The suit centers on a letter from Morath to school superintendents after Kirk’s death. In it, the education official lamented “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media” posted by “some” educators in the state’s public schools. He said that he would refer educators who have “proliferated such vile content” for investigation within the agency.

According to the union’s complaint, filed Tuesday in Texas federal court, the state action “quickly unleashed a wave of retaliation and disciplinary actions against teachers based on their First Amendment protected speech.”

The complaint said that based on public reporting, more than 350 teachers have been reported to the Texas Education Agency, which oversees primary and secondary public education in the state, for investigation.....

In November, Reuters published a report finding that more than 600 Americans were fired, suspended, investigated or disciplined by employers over comments about Kirk, who was fatally shot in September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. State prosecutors said they’re seeking the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, who’s charged with murder. He has yet to stand trial but is presumed innocent unless and until he’s convicted or pleads guilty.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

1. Charlie Crackpot has no place in public schools. Universities either.