Confusion Ensues as TEA Ties DFW Schools to Charlie Kirk Social Media Probe

The Texas Education Agency has received more than 350 complaints against teachers accused of making inappropriate or insensitive comments following the Sept. 10 death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, the agency has announced.

The TEA recently released a list of the 124 school districts where an employee is under investigation, 22 of which are in North Texas. The agency has not stated how many educators are being probed or how many employees per district have drawn complaints. Still, for several North Texas districts, last week’s announcement likely came as a shock. 

The Observer contacted the 22 local school districts identified by the agency as being under investigation. Seven districts responded to our inquiry, and four of them — the Allen, Keller, Mesquite and Richardson independent school districts — stated that TEA had not contacted them regarding an investigation into an employee. 

“We are not aware of any Mesquite ISD teacher currently under investigation by TEA for comments made about the death of Charlie Kirk,” a spokesperson from Mesquite ISD said. “If a MISD staff member were under investigation for this or any other matter, Mesquite ISD would fully cooperate with TEA.”

Statements from Allen and Keller ISD were similar to Mesquite’s, and a Richardson ISD spokesperson denied the district’s involvement, stating, “TEA is not investigating any of our district personnel.” We asked TEA what the protocol is regarding the agency’s communication with a district where an employee is under investigation, but did not receive a response. 

According to the agency, all investigations remain open and are being looked into by the department that typically handles more extreme cases of misconduct, such as child abuse. The department can issue subpoenas, although it is unclear whether any investigations will progress to that point. 

Grand Prairie ISD told the Observer that two employees were placed on leave last month because of emails related to Kirk’s death. An internal investigation determined the comments were inappropriate but “did not appear to be an incitement of violence,” a spokesperson for the district said.

“The district concluded that the postings and the comments reflected poor judgment rather than any attempt to promote or encourage violence,” the spokesperson said. “As corrective action, the District issued the employees a written reprimand, and they have since returned to work. … A report was submitted in compliance with the (TEA) commissioner’s directive regarding mandatory reporting and was not intended as a recommendation for certification sanction. We have had no further communication on this matter from the state.”

Arlington ISD and Dallas ISD both told the Observer that the districts do not comment on personnel matters. Last month, KERA reported that a “longtime educator” with Dallas ISD had been suspended with pay over posts made to his personal social media account that were critical of Kirk. One of the comments was a quote by the poet Oscar Wilde. 

“I don’t have any idea how many are going through this same experience,” Dallas Alliance AFT President Rena Honea 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.”

Nonetheless, Republican leaders have vowed there will be consequences for any Kirk-related or Kirk-adjacent rhetoric that can be construed as negative. 

On Sept. 15, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on social media that the state agency was investigating more than 100 teachers. Abbott called for those teachers to become “ineligible to teach in a Texas public school” if found to have “called for or incited violence” following Kirk’s assassination. 

While the TEA cannot directly fire teachers, agency commissioner Mike Morath has said he will recommend the State Board for Educator Certification suspend the licenses of teachers found to have “proliferated such vile content.” In at least two Houston-area districts, Goose Creek Consolidated ISD and Klein ISD, employees have been terminated for comments related to Kirk’s death. In Abilene, Wylie ISD accepted the resignation letters of two educators found to have made “unacceptable” comments. 

According to Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the free speech advocacy organization has sent letters to “several” districts, “urging them to refrain from disciplining staff simply for expressing controversial opinions.” In many cases, social media posts about Kirk’s death were made to personal accounts outside of school hours, making the expression constitutionally protected. 

“The Supreme Court has long held that (government employees) can be disciplined for personal speech on matters of public concern only if it seriously disrupts the workplace or their ability to do their jobs, not simply because it causes offense or public controversy,” Terr said. “What’s especially troubling is the political pressure from top state officials … demanding swift retribution against educators based on disapproval of their actual or perceived views. That’s now how free speech works.”

The full list of North Texas districts identified by TEA as having an employee or employees under investigation is: Allen ISD, Arlington ISD, Carrollton ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Corsicana ISD, Dallas ISD, Denton ISD, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Frisco ISD, Grand Prairie ISD, Irving ISD, Keller ISD, Lake Dallas ISD, Lewisville ISD, McKinney ISD, Mesquite ISD, Plano ISD, Prosper ISD, Richardson ISD, Rockwall ISD and the Trinity Basin Preparatory charter school district.