Top union accuses Texas of targeting teachers over Charlie Kirk posts

Source: The Guardian

Top union accuses Texas of targeting teachers over Charlie Kirk posts

American Federation of Teachers sues over what it says are unconstitutional investigations into social media comments

Joseph Gedeon in Washington
Tue 6 Jan 2026 20.54 GMT
Last modified on Tue 6 Jan 2026 22.04 GMT

A major Texas teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Tuesday challenging what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 66,000 public school employees, is asking a federal court to block the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, from continuing investigations that the union argues violate teachers’ free speech protections.

The legal challenge centers on a 6 September letter Morath sent to school superintendents across Texas, instructing them to report educators who made what he termed “reprehensible and inappropriate” remarks about Kirk, who was shot and killed on 10 September while speaking at Utah Valley University. The union argues this directive has triggered a sweeping crackdown on constitutionally protected speech.

“Public school teachers and other employees do not surrender their first amendment rights simply by virtue of their employment,” the lawsuit reads.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/06/texas-charlie-kirk-social-media