A teacher in Miami-Dade County, Florida, is reportedly facing a state investigation over her social media posts, part of a larger effort to root out any educators in the state who made disparaging comments on social media about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after his murder in September.
But according to the Miami Herald, this teacher didn't post anything about Kirk. However, she did share a post criticizing state officials for investigating her colleagues' posts.
"In Miami-Dade alone, eight teachers are currently under investigation for posts parents or administrators flagged as politically-charged, according to the school district," said the report. "One of them is Mayade Ersoff, a teacher at Palmetto Middle School who told the Herald she wasn’t even sure which post on her social media was flagged to the district or why."
Ersoff told the Herald she never posted anything about Kirk directly; "She did, however, re-share a post critical of Florida Department of Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas for his vow to 'investigate' educators who post negatively about Charlie Kirk. In a review of her social media, the Herald found that the re-post that encouraged people to 'Call [Kamoustsas] and tell him to go to hell and take DeSantis who appointed him on the trip.' The post was originally shared by Marvin Dunn, a former professor and activist."
School district representatives, as well as Palmetto Middle School principal Alina Valero, "did not respond to questions about the investigation, stating that they cannot speak since it is ongoing."
This comes after Florida has repeatedly made headlines for Republican officials' strong-arm interventions into the education system.
In recent years, state officials and lawmakers have passed laws allowing for increasing amounts of censorship in school libraries; have staffed public university boards with political allies of the governor; and purged any use of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from academic institutions.
The policies are beginning to take their toll. Recent surveys indicate nearly 1 in 3 college professors in Florida have applied for jobs outside the state, sparking fears of a "brain drain."
