Texas educators face decertification after endorsing violence against Charlie Kirk.
Too far? Or are nearly 200 Texas educators merely suffering the consequences of their own actions?
Greg Abbott wants to ensure that those consequences really stick. Not only does he want punitive action against educators who «endorsed» Charlie Kirk’s assassination and/or more violence, he wants to make sure they don’t work in education in Texas. Ever.
The eyes of Texas are upon the teachers’ social media:
???? BREAKING: Over 100 TEACHERS in Texas will now have their teacher certification suspended and become ineligible to teach in Texas public schools after they endorsed Charlie Kirk’s assassination or incited more violence, Governor Greg Abbott announces.
They’re all FINDING OUT.… pic.twitter.com/FSTgIbe9VZ— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 15, 2025
That number was from Monday. By late yesterday, it had grown to 180, and may still be growing as reports come in from angry social-media followers. The Texas Education Agency licenses educators in the state and has the power to suspend or revoke those licenses, which would effectively strip them of their jobs and any ability to replace them in the state. And the TEA sounds as though they seriously want to make examples of those who cross the line:
The TEA announced the investigation in a statement from Commissioner Mike Morath. The statement was also shared on social media by Gov. Greg Abbott. In the statement, Morath said he will refer all documentation of educators who proliferated such “vile content” to the TEA’s educator investigations division, as the posts may violate the educators’ code of ethics.
A TEA spokesperson said as of Monday morning the agency had received “approximately 180 complaints” that were in the “complaint review stage.” .
“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,” Morath said in the statement.
The Texas AFT chapter went ballistic this weekend when the TEA began reviewing social-media posts, calling it «authoritarian»:
In a statement Saturday, the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers condemned a “political witch hunt” against teachers who disagreed with Kirk’s politics.
“These ‘investigations’ into teachers exercising their First Amendment rights outside their official duties silence dissent and encourage the purging of civil servants — both key tenets of the authoritarian playbook», the statement read.
