After 31-year-old right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a Utah university last Wednesday, social media flooded with prayers and condolences. The moment also prompted online criticism of the man – Kirk was a vocal supporter of gun rights and MAGA ideals. In death, Kirk is being celebrated by many as a defender of the First Amendment, though he regularly used that right on The Charlie Kirk Show to be unapologetically anti-immigrant, homophobic, sexist, and racist in the name of his Christian faith.
On Friday, the Texas Education Agency sent a letter to all state school district superintendents asking them to report teachers who have posted what TEA Commissioner Mike Morath calls “reprehensible and inappropriate content” about Kirk on their personal social media accounts. Gov. Greg Abbott reposted the commissioner’s letter to X, adding on Sept. 15 that the investigation includes “more than 100” educators.
Morath alleges such posts could violate the TEA’s Educators’ Code of Ethics, though the code does not make clear what kind of language the agency’s investigation division will flag in teachers’ comments about Kirk. “While the exercise of free speech is a fundamental right … it does not give carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share differing beliefs,” Morath wrote.
At least a dozen teachers nationwide have already been placed on leave or fired, and six Texas school districts have exercised disciplinary action for comments about Kirk thus far, per KVUE and Texas Tribune reporting. The TEA has not publicized examples of these comments, which, Morath added on Sept. 15, “call for and incite further violence.”
Republican Rep. Steve Toth took to X to applaud the TEA. “These people are insanely hateful and violent and have no place in the lives of Texas Children,” he wrote, again not referencing any specific examples. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows also announced new legislative committees to study free speech on college campuses “in honor of the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk.” At the same time, Morath’s letter denies Texas educators the same right to free speech.
The letter also encourages superintendents to report other “instances of inappropriate content” through the TEA’s Misconduct Reporting Portal. The agency is reportedly investigating over 180 such reports. Morath said in a statement that he will recommend the State Board for Educator Certification render those individuals ineligible to teach in a Texas public school.
This TEA investigation follows other faculty firings with political bias at state universities. Thomas Alter, associate professor of history at Texas State University, was fired on Sept. 10 for a video recorded of him speaking at a socialism conference. The day prior, Melissa McCoul was fired from Texas A&M University after asserting that there are more than two genders during her literature course.
This article appears in September 19 • 2025.
