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The Indiana Department of Education will review statements teachers have made about the killing of Charlie Kirk and potentially suspend or revoke their licenses for “misconduct,” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said Wednesday.
At the same time, Attorney General Todd Rokita is compiling some of these statements in a new section of a state portal that Rokita established last year where people can file complaints about how teachers and schools are approaching race, gender, and political ideology.
Kirk’s Sept. 10 killing has sparked national scrutiny of social media posts that teachers and others have made about the conservative activist.
The moves by two of Indiana’s top officials mirror those of state education leaders in Florida and Oklahoma, as well as federal officials, who have urged action against teachers who have made posts that “justify political violence.”
In a post on X Wednesday, Braun said “in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, there have been some terrible things shared, particularly across social media.”
He further said that Secretary of Education Katie Jenner “has the authority to suspend or revoke a license for misconduct and the office will review reported statements of K-12 teachers and administrators who have made statements to celebrate or incite political violence.”
“Teachers play a critical role in the shaping of our youth. As a result, we hold them to a higher standard. The vast majority of Indiana’s educators live up to that standard; but sadly, in recent days a few have not,” Braun said.
State law says that upon the recommendation of the secretary of education, the department of education can revoke or suspend a teacher’s license for “immorality, misconduct in office, incompetency, or willful neglect of duty.”
Separately, Rokita has added a section to the Eyes on Education portal specifically for posts about Charlie Kirk. On Thursday, this section featured screenshots of social media posts allegedly from the employees of two colleges and six school districts throughout Indiana. It also listed the dates of the school districts’ next board meetings, and contact information for their leadership.
The posts vary, from memes and reposts of quotes, to the individuals’ negative opinions about Kirk’s politics and their positive reactions to his death.
At least two teachers named in the portal have parted ways with their districts in the last week, according to the superintendents of those districts.
On Thursday, groups including the ACLU of Indiana and the Indiana State Teachers Association said teachers have a right to lawful speech.
“While celebrating violence is unacceptable, threatening educators’ licenses for lawful speech risks silencing those who are teaching honestly or sharing personal views responsibly,” the groups said in a statement.
Braun’s office referred a request for comment to the Indiana Department of Education.
Rokita did not reply to a request for comment by deadline Thursday.
The state education department also did not reply by deadline to a question about whether any action has been taken against Indiana teachers over their posts. Jenner was in Washington, D.C. on Thursday testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Chalkbeat contacted all eight school districts and colleges named in the Charlie Kirk section of the Eyes on Education portal. Four responded by deadline.
In the case of a teacher at the Metropolitan School District of Durham Township — a district of around 900 students in northwestern Indiana — Superintendent Brian Ton said the teacher was placed on leave after he was made aware that the individual made posts during the school day, which is a breach of board policies. The teacher then chose to leave the district, he said.
“The impact to our educational environment would have been substantial, so I accepted her decision,” Ton said.
Ton said the district was not aware that the incident was included on the Eyes on Education portal, and that Rokita has not contacted the district about it.
Bryan Perry, Superintendent of the South Gibson School Corporation, also said a teacher named in the portal had resigned from their position.
Asked about a teacher listed on the portal, Elkhart Superintendent Larry Huff said in a statement the district is “reviewing any matters related to the use of social media,” and that staff had received reminders about these policies.
“While personnel matters remain confidential and we are unable to comment on them, please know that we take any potential violations of board policies seriously and will address them appropriately,” Huff said.
In a statement on a teacher’s posts listed on the portal, Valparaiso Community Schools said that it would not comment on personnel matters, but that the district was reviewing the situation in accordance with district policy and state and federal legal guidelines.
“The post was made on the employee’s personal account during her personal time and does not reflect the values or mission of our district,” the district said. “While employees have the right to express personal opinions as private citizens, the school district also holds them to high professional standards.”
Groups stress teachers’ First Amendment rights
The Indiana State Teachers Association said in a Thursday statement that the organization “condemns violence in all forms, including political violence.”
“Political violence threatens our democracy, but so does censorship,” the ISTA said. “We stand ready to work with state leaders to ensure that educators can stay focused on what matters most: teaching and supporting Indiana’s students.”
Josh Bleisch, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Indiana, said that public employees like teachers don’t lose their First Amendment rights to speech, including the right to speak on matters of public concern. But that doesn’t mean these cases are an automatic win.
A court will balance that right to speak against the employer’s interest in maintaining an efficient workplace, Bleisch said.
“If a teacher made a post during the school day or in the classroom — that’s a different story,” he said.
Furthermore, while Braun’s post said that “calls for political violence are not freedom of speech,” Bleisch said the standard for what the First Amendment does not protect is actually much narrower.
The law does not protect incitement, which is legally defined as speech directed at producing imminent lawless action, and that is likely to produce such action. That’s different from expressions of dislike, he said.
The ACLU of Indiana has received inquiries from individuals potentially facing reprisal for their posts, but Bleisch declined to say whether the organization is pursuing a specific legal challenge at this time.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
