A Dallas teachers group says a longtime educator was put on leave for posts he shared to his personal Facebook critical of Charlie Kirk, the young conservative activist murdered in Utah last week.
Dallas Alliance AFT president Rena Honea said the teacher, a member of the group, was exercising his First Amendment rights when he re-posted the comments, one of which was a quote by the poet Oscar Wilde.
Honea said the suspension is part of a state and national trend of punishing those who speak critically of Kirk or the Republican administration.
“I don't have any idea how many are going through this same experience,” she told KERA. “But it is happening across the state. These people are exercising their First Amendment right. It's on their own time, on their personal space.”
She said some college teachers and others weren’t just put on administrative leave, they were fired.
Her Alliance member who’s on leave is still getting paid while his posts are investigated. For privacy and safety concerns, KERA is not using the teacher’s name. Dallas ISD did not confirm the teacher’s status and said the district doesn’t comment on personnel matters.
It comes as the Texas Education Agency said it’s reviewing more than 280 complaints against teachers and staff who have posted online about Kirk’s assassination. Earlier this month Education Commissioner Mike Morath
warned that educators who “posted and/or shared reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media” could face suspension or revocation of their teaching certificates.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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