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Questions swirl around first amendment rights
BY RITA COOK / Freelance Writer
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ELLIS COUNTY – There were no ISD’s in Ellis County named in the 127 school districts in Texas being investigated by The Texas Education Agency in the aftermath of the death of Turning Point’s political speaker Charlie Kirk.
TEA said it had received roughly 350 complaints filed against teachers after Kirk’s death regarding social media posts.
The complaints indicated there were educators who had posted or shared “reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
Even considering the fact the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution protects freedoms of speech several school districts took disciplinary action against staff anyway.
Already at least six school districts across the state have enforced disciplinary action on staff regarding their comments.
And, while the TEA was still in the investigation process of the complaints, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the complaints against Kirk “called for or incite violence.”
It is unclear how Abbott knew the written messages in each of the many posts that were being investigated in order to substantiate his statement.
The TEA did offer a statement in September from agency commissioner Mike Morath, who said he would recommend the State Board for Educator Certification suspend the licenses of teachers who were disciplined.
At the same time, there are critics who are concerned that these actions are akin to an “authoritarian” government without regard for freedom of speech.
Zeph Capo, president of the Texas’ American Federation of Teachers union, said in a statement that investigations “silence dissent.”
“What started with lawmakers weaponizing their platforms against civil servants has morphed into a statewide directive,” he added.
Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said he is troubled by the “political pressure surrounding these investigations and the demands coming from the highest officials in the state that teachers face investigation and punishment for their comments about a public figure.”
The question from a logical viewpoint becomes do public school employees surrender their First Amendment rights even when not at work?
Morath suggested the comments made on social media by the ISD staff could have violated Texas Educators’ Code of Ethics.
