Four Central Florida teachers are being investigated for posting social media posts that were considered inappropriate in the wake of the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on a college campus last week.
Immediately following Kirk’s death, Florida’s Commissioner of Education Stasi Kamoutsas said teachers could lose their jobs and licenses over social media posts celebrating the shooting.
The four teachers being investigated over their posts are all in the Osceola County Schools district.
So far, no other districts in Central Florida have investigated, reprimanded or laid off teachers or staff over posts related to Kirk.
In a statement, an Osceola County Schools spokesperson says the teachers have not lost their jobs or certifications, as the investigations are still ongoing.
“There are investigations being done on four teachers at this time. No action has been taken as these are currently open, and it will be pending the outcome of those investigations,” read the statement. The school district did not release specific details of the posts.
The Florida Education Association’s President Andrew Spar calls the current moment, where teachers are being punished for social media posts, disturbing.
“It's almost feels like a McCarthy-type of environment now where who you associate with, what you say, can be taken out of context and used in a way that is meant to harm you. And so that's very concerning in a lot of different ways,” said Spar.
Spar says the policies and investigations are having an impact on educators, both financially and emotionally.
“There's definitely a feeling that people are out to get other people right now, and that's not who we are as a country, I don't believe and that's not who we should be as Floridians or as educators,” said Spar.
The Florida Department of Education says it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of pending investigations into these or other teachers.
The department says if investigations find teachers “should not be in a classroom based on their behavior, the Commissioner will use all of his power to hold these educators responsible up to and including revoking their educator certificate.”
Teachers in Florida can already lose their jobs and certifications if they call a child by preferred pronouns or a name that their parent or guardian hasn’t approved, under a Florida law passed in 2022.
Brevard teacher Melissa Calhoun was the first in the state to lose her job over the law, after she called a child by a preferred name that aligned with their gender identity. She didn’t lose her license, but she wasn’t rehired in the district.
Across the country, teachers and professors have been fired or face disciplinary charges over social media posts after the death of Charlie Kirk.
In other parts of Florida, Republican State Representative Berny Jacques has called for the firing of a Pinellas County teacher over their posts.
