Editor’s note: The above video was first reported on KXAN on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the week since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has received 281 complaints related to educators’ social media content about Kirk’s death, according to a Wednesday afternoon update from the agency’s director of media relations.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in a letter sent to schools on Friday that the agency was investigating educators’ social media posts related to the assassination that TEA considers “inappropriate.”
Kirk was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday.
“These educators’ comments do not reflect the vast majority of Texas teachers who are dedicated practitioners that work diligently to serve the more than 5.5 million impressionable young minds in our classrooms,” Morath said in the letter.
On Monday, TEA said it had received about 180 complaints related to such social media posts, and that some of them were under investigation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, TEA is now looking into 281 complaints and is “still actively engaged in the complaint review process.” The agency said there have not been any sanctions applied yet, as the agency is still in the review process.
After Friday’s statement, President of the Texas American Federation of Teachers Zeph Capo criticized the TEA, saying, “people still have a First Amendment right to speak out on matters of civil discourse, without threats.”
On Monday, State Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons, D-Houston, echoed the sentiment, saying she was “disgusted to read TEA Commissioner Mike Morath’s letter threatening to investigate and intimidate Texas teachers for exercising their first amendment rights.”
TEA said any employment terminations due to recent social media posts would have been done by local school districts/employers.
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