This article has been updated since publication to include the latest numbers from TEA.
The Texas Education Agency is investigating more than a hundred Texas teachers over their social media posts regarding conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Late last week, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to superintendents acknowledging that the agency had been made aware of teachers sharing social media posts celebrating Kirk’s assassination and was actively investigating the situation.
To date, 281 Texas teachers from government schools are under investigation by the TEA.
All documentation regarding teachers who have posted content celebrating Kirk’s death has been handed over to the TEA’s Educator Investigations Division.
“While the exercise of free speech is a fundamental right we are all blessed to share, it does not give carte blanche authority to celebrate or sow violence against those that share differing beliefs and perspectives,” wrote Morath.
Gov. Greg Abbott has stated that those found guilty will “have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school.”
The online account Libs of TikTok has documented teachers across the country celebrating Kirk’s death and is reporting when or if they have been fired by the schools districts that employ them.
One such case reported in Texas is a teacher named Jessica Thompson from Kipp Public Schools’ Austin campus.
Thompson celebrated Kirk’s death in a series of social media posts which have been captured and posted on X.
The posts show pictures of Thompson in her classroom with captions that read, “Charlie COOKED [thumb down emoji],” and “Something I tell the kids everyday, ‘If you manifest it, it will happen to you’ You reap what you sow. I guess I can say, I’m happy for him, [hand heart emoji] he got what he wanted.”
According to the post on X, she has been fired.
The TEA requests that all documentation of inappropriate teacher conduct with regard to Charlie Kirk’s assassination be reported to the agency through its Misconduct Reporting Portal.
