Federal Judge Tosses Texas AFT’s Lawsuit Over Morath’s Charlie Kirk Letter

A federal judge last Friday (Aug. 21, 2026) dismissed the Texas AFT‘s (TAFT) lawsuit against Education Commissioner Mike Morath over his letter to superintendents directing them to refer educators for possible disciplinary sanctions for authoring negative social media posts about Charlie Kirk‘s killing.

TAFT argued, in its lawsuit, that Morath’s letter chilled teachers’ speech and contributed to disciplinary actions, including flags on educator certificates and placements on a “Do Not Hire” list.

TAFT “Lacks Standing”

But, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright instead ruled that TAFT lacks the legal standing to bring the case because it failed to show that the alleged injuries were directly traceable to Morath’s letter.

The judge said Morath’s letter did not create a new TEA policy or new requirements; instead, the letter merely referred to existing provisions of the Educators’ Code of Ethics and existing investigation and disciplinary procedures.

The judge also said that even if the letter were withdrawn by TEA, teachers could still individually face consequences under those existing disciplinary policies.

Dismissed “Without Prejudice”

The judge dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning the ruling did not decide whether the underlying policies or any disciplinary actions violate the First Amendment.

The next step, should TAFT so choose, is to appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.