Education authorities “investigate inappropriate remarks made by teachers”… Teachers’ union: “Infringement on freedom of expression”
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[AFP 연합뉴스=자료사진]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ko Il-hwan = The teachers’ union in the U.S. state of Texas filed a lawsuit against the education authorities’ censorship measures related to the assassination of young conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 6th (local time), the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) claimed that state education authorities violated freedom of expression in a complaint filed in Austin federal court on the same day.
The Texas State Board of Education’s investigation of teachers’ social media posts immediately after the Kirk assassination last September violated the First Amendment.
At the time, the Texas State Board of Education announced that it would conduct a state-level investigation into inappropriate content posted by teachers online regarding Kirk’s assassination.
In particular, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, expressed his position that strict action, including suspension, was inevitable against teachers who advocated or incited violence.
The Texas State Board of Education announced that a total of 350 complaints have been received so far regarding teachers’ comments, and 95 are being investigated.
According to the AFT, several teachers were subsequently disciplined, one of whom was fired.
The Texas branch of the AFT, which has 66,000 teachers as members, called for the disciplinary action to be withdrawn.
AFT criticized the Texas State Board of Education for conducting a political investigation without clearly clarifying the targets and standards of the investigation.
Texas, considered a stronghold of the Republican Party, recently caused controversy by introducing conservative education policies, such as restricting campus protests and mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments of Christianity in public school classrooms.
koman@yna.co.kr
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Sent on January 7, 2026 at 15:09
