State: Morath Blameless for “Charlie Kirk” Teacher Comment Probes

Don’t blame Education Commissioner Mike Morath if Texas educators were investigated due to their comments about murdered conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, attorneys for the state say in a legal briefing filed Monday (March 16, 2026) seeking to dismiss a lawsuit (article) the Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT) filed against Morath.

The state Attorney General’s Office lawyers representing Morath rejected Texas AFT’s claims that the letter (article) Morath wrote to superintendents overstepped his authority when he urged superintendents to report teachers who posted controversial reactions to the murder on social media and elsewhere to the TEA Educator Investigations Division and/or the TEA Misconduct Reporting Portal.