After Charlie Kirk’s death, teachers and professors nationwide fired or disciplined over social media posts
At least a dozen faculty and staff have faced fallout over insensitive comments online.
Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk this week, educators across the country have found themselves facing swift termination or potential discipline after allegedly sharing opinions on social media about the killing.
At least a dozen faculty and staff, from school board officials to classroom teachers, have been met with fallout over insensitive posts about Kirk’s death. In at least two instances, universities fired staff members entirely for posts deemed inappropriate.
Many other educators have been suspended or are under investigation, and the number is likely to grow as conservative online influencers share screenshots.
New fallout from reactions to Charlie Kirk’s killing
01:44
At East Tennessee State University, two faculty members have been placed on administrative leave pending further review, school spokesperson Jess Vodden said. Complaints sent to the university included screenshots of Facebook comments, according to copies the school shared with NBC News, that one faculty member allegedly made in response to Kirk’s death, including “you reap what you sow.” Another allegedly wrote, “This isn’t a tragedy. It’s a victory.”
Vodden said the university had received “numerous complaints” about the posts. “Because this is a personnel issue, we cannot offer further comment at this time,” she said.
Middle Tennessee State University fired a staff member, according to a statement shared Wednesday by President Sidney McPhee.
State officials are weighing in as well, with the Florida Department of Education sending a memo to school district superintendents Thursday, threatening investigation and disciplinary action against educators who have commented on Kirk’s death in a manner it deems inappropriate.
“It has been brought to my attention that some Florida educators have posted despicable comments on social media regarding the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk,” said the memo, signed by Florida education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas. “I will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”
Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, similarly promised to investigate teachers making incendiary comments on social media about Kirk’s death, and he confirmed his department is investigating one middle school educator called out on X.
Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of conservative activist organization Turning Point USA, was killed Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University, a public school south of Salt Lake City. Officials on Friday identified a 22-year-old Utah resident, now in custody, as the suspect in the shooting.
Kirk was shot and killed during one of his regular events on college campuses hosted by Turning Point USA. The organization grew since 2012 to claim over 800 college campus chapters and 1,000 high school clubs, and it is credited with helping Donald Trump win a higher share of young voters.
Kirk was known for taking contentious stances, including the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen and comments he made about Black people, the LGBTQ community, feminism, and immigration.
Turning Point USA hosts a “Professor Watchlist” and “School Board Watchlist,” websites that called out faculty and school board members, respectively, over allegedly promoting far-left ideology. The sites have faced criticism.
In recent years, right-wing activists have followed in the group’s footsteps of pinpointing academics and teachers over comments they make in classes or online. And in the two days since Kirk’s death, they’ve circulated examples of school and university employees celebrating or making light of his death, often tagging the district or college where they work.
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07:40
University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said in a statement on X that a staff member was let go due to comments the individual had “re-shared” on social media. The school did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for further details.
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“These comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness, and respecting the dignity of each person,” Boyce wrote Thursday. “We condemn these actions, and this staff member is no longer employed by the university.”
Several K-12 school staff from Mariposa, California, to Orange Park, Florida, have also been placed on leave as school officials investigate social media posts, according to multiple reports. The school board in Oskaloosa, Iowa, plans to consider one teacher’s employment at the next school board meeting, after they allegedly posted, “1 Nazi down,” regarding Kirk’s killing.
At Newport News Public Schools in Virginia, an unidentified staff member was suspended after allegedly writing on Facebook, “I hope he suffered through all of it,” in regard to Kirk’s death, according to NBC affiliate WAVY of Portsmouth.
“Given that employees have a unique responsibility to serve as role models, leaders, and caretakers for students in the school division, certain behaviors are deemed inconsistent with employment in the division,” Robert C. White, a spokesperson for the schools, said in a statement that did not identify the teacher. “Therefore, employees are expected to exercise professional judgment when using social media.”
A Baylor University graduate student lost their job as a student teacher in Texas’ Midway Independent School District due to a post they allegedly made on social media about Kirk’s death. A district spokesperson told NBC News that school officials coordinated with the university to immediately remove them from being around students. Baylor posted on X that it is “greatly disappointed” in the graduate student.
Adam Goldstein, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, questioned the value of trying to oust people from their professions over insensitive remarks they make on social media.
“If we create a climate of fear so that everyone is afraid to talk,” Goldstein added, “then we’ve actually kind of accomplished the goals of people who wanted to silence Charlie Kirk in the first place.”
Florida teacher fired for giving zeros to students who didn’t turn in assignments
The lowest grade that teachers are allowed to give students is a 50.
07.27.25
Diane Tirado/Facebook
Left: Teacher Diane Tirado. Right: The note she left for students after being fired.
If you’re of the mind that kids today are being coddled and not properly prepared for the real world, well, you might want to buckle up for this one. The story out of a public school in Florida has parents and teachers alike up in arms.
A Florida teacher was fired for giving her students zeros for missing assignments. Diane Tirado has been a teacher for years. Most recently, she was an eighth-grade history teacher at Westgate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Diane recently gave her students two weeks to complete an Explorer notebook project, but several students simply didn’t hand it in. Since there was zero work done, Diane gave them zeros.
She got fired for it.
Michael Scott from The Office saying “What?”Giphy
The elementary school has a rule called the “no zero policy.”
The lowest possible grade that teachers can give students is a 50, even if they don’t turn anything in. That means that an extremely poor completed assignment is worth the same number of points as no assignment at all.
Hardly seems fair, right? Westgate is far from the only school that has such a policy, however.
A message written on the whiteboard for her students after Diane Tirado was firedDiane Tirado/Facebook
It’s a rule that Diane, unsurprisingly, does not agree with. After she was fired for disobeying, she left her students a charming goodbye message on the whiteboard.
“Bye kids. Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life. I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50 percent for not handing anything in. Love, Mrs. Tirado”
The scale, as outlined by the school, reads as follows:
A = 90 to 100
B = 80 to 89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 50-59
Diane later shared the story on Facebook, hoping to spread awareness about the school’s policy.
“A grade in Mrs. Tirado’s class is earned,” she said.
“I’m so upset because we have a nation of kids that are expecting to get paid and live their life just for showing up and it’s not real.”
Diane’s post has gone viral, and most commenters agree with her position – it’s not fair to hand out grades for work that doesn’t exist.
No zero policies are common in many schools, and teachers notoriouslyhate them. But it’s at least worth considering why they exist. Some educators say it’s because when a student earns a zero, it’s very difficult for them to ever recover their grade in that class. In other words, it may be too harsh. Others argue that, if you don’t want a zero, don’t turn in nothing! Getting an earned-zero is a great way to learn to at least try.
A follow up statement from the school stated: “Ms. Tirado was released from her duties as an instructor because her performance was deemed sub-standard and her interactions with students, staff, and parents lacked professionalism and created a toxic culture on the school’s campus. … During her brief time of employment at West Gate, the school fielded numerous student and parent complaints as well as concerns from colleagues. Based on new information shared with school administrators, an investigation of possible physical abuse is underway.”
However, school representatives did not deny the existence of the no zero policy, and Tirado claims the school engaged in a smear campaign after she became a “whistleblower” on their policies. She’s currently considering legal action against the district.
Still, the debate over the grading policy rages on.
“The reason I took on this fight was because it was ridiculous. Teaching should not be this hard,” Diane said.
This article originally appeared 6 years ago.
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