JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Local teachers, parents, and community advocates rallied outside Duval County Public Schools on Tuesday, following a teacher being removed from the classroom.
“Stop the attack on our teachers,” said local advocate Katie Hathaway. “Reinstate every educator who’s been wrongfully removed from the classroom and affirm their First Amendment rights.”
It’s been nearly two weeks since Action News Jax learned that Hope McMath, a teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, is under investigation for her comments on social media.
The district has not released specific details about the investigation, but we know it stems from a complaint filed by the Duval chapter of parental rights group Moms for Liberty.
In a letter, the group said it’s “deeply concerned about McMath bringing her personal and radical views into the classroom” and asked that student notebooks be reviewed to determine what is being taught.
Following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, McMath posted on social media, “Karma’s a b****,” and she compared City Councilman Rory Diamond to a “grand wizard,” a term often associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
But Hathaway said punishing McMath for statements made outside the classroom is a form of censorship.
“Every child deserves teachers who can speak freely,” Hathaway said.
And she said it is something we aren’t just seeing in Duval but all across the state.
“We are in very dangerous territory as teachers are being silenced and removed from classrooms,” Hathaway said.
She argued that silencing teachers has a great impact on students.
“Whenever you are silencing teachers, kids suffer,” Hathaway said. “And whenever you are removing teachers from the classroom, that harms kids.”
As McMath remains out of the classroom, the Florida Department of Education has not confirmed nor denied an investigation.
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