Florida warns teachers not to post negatively about Charlie Kirk
Orlando Sentinel | By Steven Walker |
Following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Florida’s top education official warned teachers that anyone who posted “disgusting comments” about Kirk would be reprimanded.
Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas wrote in a letter to school superintendents Thursday that some online posts made by teachers had been brought to his attention, but he did not provide specifics about what the posts said or who wrote them.
The commissioner promised to investigate any teacher who engaged in “this vile, sanctionable behavior.” Florida law gives Kamoutsas authority to sanction educators’ teaching certificates.
He said that while educators have First Amendment rights, they also have professional duties as teachers and publicly sharing their personal views could “undermine the trust” of students and families.
Kamoutsas wrote that he knew the “vast majority” of teachers had not posted “despicable comments” but urged superintendents to share his letter with their staff.
“We will hold teachers who choose to make disgusting comments about the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk accountable,” he wrote on X, sharing a copy of his letter. “Govern yourselves accordingly.”
A spokesperson for Kamoutsas did not respond to a request for more information about what prompted the letter.
The Clay County school district in North Florida confirmed Thursday it had suspended an elementary school teacher after she reportedly posted on social media of Kirk’s death, “This may not be the obituary we were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me.”
Spokespersons for Seminole, Lake, and Osceola county school districts said none of their teachers had been flagged for social media posts. A spokesperson for Orange County Public Schools said he checking but did not immediately have information.
Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Wednesday. The event at Utah Valley University kicked off Kirk’s “Prove Me Wrong” tour, where he would engage in debate with attendees over various political issues.
The assassination sparked strong and mixed responses on social media, with some mourning the charismatic 31-year-old and others resurfacing Kirk’s comments they disliked, including one on gun control where he said that “some” gun deaths were worth it to preserve Second Amendment rights.
