TEA: More than 180 complaints about teachers celebrating Kirk assassination

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(The Center Square) – After reports of public school teachers celebrating the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, the Texas Education Agency issued a letter to superintendents stating those who have violated state ethics code.

So far, more than 180 complaints have been filed against teachers statewide. More than 100 have been suspended, Gov. Greg Abott said.

“The Texas Education Agency is investigating Texas teachers whose actions called for or incite violence following the Charlie Kirk assassination. Those educators – more than 100 – will have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school,” Abbott said.

In a letter to superintendents of all public school systems in Texas, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the agency had been made aware of some educators posting or sharing “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media related to the assignation of Charlie Kirk. These educators’ comments do not reflect the vast majority of Texas teachers who are dedicated practitioners that work diligently to serve the more than 5.5 million impressionable young minds in our classrooms.”

Morath is referring all documentation of “vile content” to TEA’s Educator Investigations Division that could be in violation of the Educator’s Code of Ethics. Each case is being thoroughly reviewed to determine sanctionable conduct. The division is also recommending individuals to the State Board of Educator Certification to have their teaching certification suspended to be ineligible to teach in Texas public schools.

As of Sept. 15, more than 100 will “have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school,” Abbott said.

Free speech isn’t the same as “carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share different beliefs and perspectives,” Morath said.

He also said any examples of “inappropriate content being shared” should be reported to the TEA through its misconduct reporting portal.

Reports of teacher misconduct have been posted online by state lawmakers and others. The day after his assassination, state Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe, posted screenshots of Klein ISD’s Schindewolf Intermediate School football coach and teacher Derek Woods who posted, “I don’t get why anyone is sad... A HORRIBLE F***ING HUMAN,” and adding, “You reap what you sow.”

In response, Toth said, “This teacher explains why I voted for School Choice. He should be fired but no one has the stones to call for his resignation.”

In response, Klein ISD released a statement saying an employee had been “terminated” without stating the employee’s name. The Houston Chronicle later reported it was Woods who had been fired.

In Waco, the Midway Independent School District states it removed a Midway Middle School student-teacher intern and Baylor University graduate student after making comments about Kirk’s death. Baylor said it was “disappointed” by the comments and the student didn’t represent the university and wasn’t a faculty member.

In the Houston area, three school districts, Goose Creek CISD, Pasadena ISD and Fort Bend ISD, issued statements in response to a teachers and employees making “inappropriate and insensitive comments” about Kirk’s death.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, posted screenshots of Goose Creek ISD Baytown Lee High School English teacher Jennifer Courtemanche, whose Facebook page claims she is a “Child of God. Sister. Wife. Mother. Friend. Teachers.” Her post states, “I’ll bet if the victim had been Black or Brown or a Democrat influencer, he’d have been singing a different tune. Could Kirk have baited just ONE too many people? Could this have been the consequences of his actions catching up with him?”

Cain said she “must be fired immediately.”

In Fort Bend ISD, a reported elementary school teacher appears to have called for the head of a social media outlet, Libs of TikTok, Chaya Raichik to “catch a neck shot.” She has asked the FBI to investigate.

Fort Bend ISD issued a statement saying it was aware of “social media activity involving FBISD staff” and the district “took immediate and appropriate action in response,” without stating what action was taken or naming any employees.

The Texas AFL-CIO has criticized the governor and TEA, saying teachers are being threatened “for sharing opinions on their personal social media. Now is the time to speak up and defend the rights of all Texans to exercise their constitutional right to have an opinion.”

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, the union representing 66,000 Texas educators, said disciplinary action taken against teachers was “the most extreme case of government officials witch-hunting those who disagreed with Kirk’s politics” and state lawmakers were weaponizing "their platforms against civil servants.”

In response to the union posting a video about pollical violence claiming “Republican rhetoric has been much more inflammatory in recent years than the Democratic rhetoric,” state Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton, said, “Wow, bias is blinding.”