The Florida Department of Education is vowing to investigate “every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior” celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a letter following the tragedy.
Kamoutsas wrote in the letter that he has seen several “despicable comments” made by educators in Florida following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. He made clear that these individuals do not reflect the “vast majority” of teachers in Florida, and he will be “conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”
“This memorandum serves to remind superintendents and their employees that they are held to a higher standard as public servants. Certified educators are also subject to the ethical guidelines established in Rule 6A-10.081, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida,” he said, continuing:
In addition, pursuant to section (s.) 1012.796, Florida Statutes (F.S.), the Commissioner may find probable cause to sanction an educator’s certificate. Furthermore, s. 1012.795, F.S., authorizes the Education Practices Commission to discipline an educator for violation of Rule 6A10.081, F.A.C.
“Although educators have First Amendment rights, these rights do not extend without limit into their professional duties. An educator’s personal views that are made public may undermine the trust of the students and families that they serve,” he said, reminding teachers that if their conduct causes a student or family to “feel unwelcome or unwilling to participate in the learning environment, it may be a violation of Rule 6A10.081, F.A.C.”
“Florida law allows the Commissioner to find probable cause to discipline an educator who, ‘upon investigation, has been found guilty of personal conduct that seriously reduces that person’s effectiveness as an employee of the district school board,’” he continued, urging educators to share this letter with fellow employees of their respective school districts.
“Together, we must uphold the highest standards of professionalism and keep Florida’s classrooms places of safety and academic
achievement for every student,” Kamoutsas said, adding, “Govern yourselves accordingly.”
The school district of Lee County posted the letter, thanking the public for flagging problematic social media posts made by employees. The district confirmed that its Human Resources Department is “conducting a review and we will coordinate with the Florida Department of Education.”
“Appropriate measures have been established to protect the focus of teaching and learning in our classrooms,” it assured.
One such Florida teacher who made headlines is a Starkey Elementary teacher, who reportedly stated in a post, “Thoughts and prayers right?! That’s all that is ever given to the thousands of women who have [had] preventable deaths due to lack of abortions and thousands of children who have died due to gun violence in our country!”
According to reports, the teacher went on to call Kirk a misogynist, blaming him for the death of thousands of women.
“Good riddance!” the teacher said.
Four teachers in the Osceola County Schools district are also being investigated for their social media posts.
“Celebrating the assassination of a 31 year old father of two young kids is disturbing; that teachers would be among those who do so is completely unacceptable,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “Glad @StasiKamoutsas is bringing accountability. It is sad that we’ve seen a number of teachers across America celebrate Charlie Kirk’s murder.”
