Teachers should not be punished for Charlie Kirk social media posts, union tells Massachusetts schools

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is demanding that school officials "not take actions" against educators who have come under fire for social media posts about Charlie Kirk in the wake of the conservative political activist's assassination. 

At least five staffers at Massachusetts schools have been placed on leave in the past week for allegedly posting about Kirk. 

"We are insisting that public school administrators or officials not take actions that validate accusations by extremists against educators," union president Max Page and vice president Deb McCarthy said in a statement. "We urge administrators to consider the legal and contractual rights of union members and to give equal weight to justice, due process and caution."

Workers have been fired or placed on leave around the country for their comments about Kirk.

"The ongoing campaign by extreme-right conservatives to discredit and defund public education has grotesquely exploited the shooting death of Charlie Kirk to launch attacks against people commenting on this public figure's beliefs and statements," the teachers association said.

The union said there have been "death threats and the promise of violence" against teachers over controversial social media posts.

"The MTA will ensure that its members are treated fairly and will advocate for their safety and the safety of their public schools, colleges and all of our students," the statement read. "We cannot forget that on the same day that Kirk was shot, two students at a high school in Colorado were shot by a classmate."

Free speech concerns

The American Federation of Teachers in Massachusetts also responded to the teacher suspensions, saying "Freedom of speech is a hallmark of our country."

"It is alarming that we're seeing a widespread increase in efforts to silence and penalize Americans for speaking on a matter of public concern in a private capacity," union president Jessica Tang said in a statement. "The First Amendment applies to all, not the few."

Teachers suspended in Massachusetts

On Monday, Peabody Public Schools suspended two high school teachers "for alleged violations of district policies and procedures, including but not limited to social media posts following the death of Charlie Kirk."

A teacher and staff member at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden were suspended last week, as was a Framingham teacher. Sharon Public School officials are also reviewing a staff member's alleged personal social media post that they said had "highly inappropriate and insensitive commentary."

Republican leader seeing some unity

Jared Valanzola, the chairman of the Massachusetts Young Republicans, says he's been taken aback by the online discourse surrounding Charlie Kirk. 

"I'm not sure why there's been a reaction of folks who feel the need to disparage a man who was brutally murdered, caught on camera, caught on film posted all over the internet," Valanzola said. "A married father of two children, who was just doing nothing but expressing his beliefs." 

Valanzola said that while polarizing posts are driving traction online, he's seeing more civility and unity on campuses. 

"I have been heartened as a young Republican leader in Massachusetts and across the northeast, to see a lot of states joining with their young Democrat chapters to denounce this violence, to denounce the rhetoric, and denounce what happened to Charlie Kirk and have now also doubled down on denouncing the online reaction," Valanzola said.