By Matt Kyle
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Agency says sanctions possible for proliferating “vile content” after assassination of conservative influencer.
Meredith Seaver / AP
The Texas Education Agency is investigating teachers who posted or shared “reprehensible and inappropriate” content about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
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.
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A TEA spokesperson said as of Monday morning the agency had received “approximately 180 complaints” that were in the “complaint review stage.”
Each instance will be reviewed to determine whether the conduct is subject to sanction.
“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 Education Agency is investigating teachers and staff who have “posted and/or shared reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media” about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. pic.twitter.com/mY2wpK8L3r— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 13, 2025
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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. “We urge ISDs, colleges, and public universities to review the section on crumbling independent institutions as they consider how to move forward.”
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot Wednesday as he spoke at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities on Friday announced the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in the shooting. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a news conference that Robinson disliked Kirk and his views and had become more politically involved in recent years.
Following the fatal shooting of Kirk, many took to social media to pray for Kirk and his family and share tributes to the conservative activist, who was known for promoting his views by debating students at college campuses across the United States. However, some took to social media to celebrate the killing and mock Kirk for past statements he made downplaying gun violence in America.
A teacher and football coach at Klein ISD, near Houston, was fired after commenting on a Facebook post and calling Kirk “racist, homophobic, a misogynist, transphobic nasty person,” according to The Houston Chronicle. Additionally, a Baylor University graduate student who was a student-teacher intern at Midway ISD in Waco was removed after allegedly writing “this makes me giggle” in response to reports of the shooting, according to KWTX.
Matt is a breaking news reporter. He is a graduate of Baylor University and is a native of San Antonio. When not writing, he enjoys listening to blues and folk music and playing his guitar. Previously, Matt has written for the Waco Tribune-Herald.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
