JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The attorney representing a prominent Jacksonville activist and adjunct Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher, who’s under fire for controversial remarks on social media, called for her return to the classroom.
Hope McMath, a part-time high school art teacher at DA, shared posts on her Facebook page that included controversial comments, including one referencing a local councilman. Those remarks ultimately led to her being temporarily reassigned from her position while the district conducted an investigation.
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Attorney John Phillips issued a statement on Monday, demanding “prompt due process and restoration” to get her back teaching.
Duval County Public Schools said it was investigating the matter, but according to Phillips, none of the details regarding the investigation can be confirmed.
“Ms. McMath was redirected from teaching on Monday, September 15 to investigator Bennett’s office. She has missed a full week of class. Mr. Bennett expressed this was an ‘allegation of misconduct’ that did not involve students, but based on social media posts which occurred outside of teaching. He noted it was, ‘based on her media.’ Now, it appears minor students were pulled out of classes and interrogated. We have requested the meeting Investigator Bennett offered, but we have received no response to same. We would like to move this on as much as possible,” the statement said.
Read the full statement below:
Phillips stressed the urge to get McMath’s “interview or investigation completed promptly.”
He also pointed to another case involving a math teacher with DCPS from February.
The Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled that the teacher’s off-duty Facebook reposts of political content were protected speech, overturning the school board’s discipline, which included a reprimand, three days’ suspension without pay, and required diversity training.
McMath accused City Councilman Rory Diamond of racism because of amendments he proposed to the city’s budget that would have banned any future city funding for services for undocumented immigrants, DEI programs and abortion-related care.
Those items weren’t part of this year’s budget, but Diamond said he wanted to ensure they wouldn’t be added in the future.
In her post, McMath referred to Diamond as a “grand wizard,” a reference to leaders of the Ku Klux Klan.
The amendments were defeated after a lengthy debate that lasted into the early morning hours Wednesday.
Earlier this month, in a Facebook post, McMath applauded four City Council members who walked out during the discussion of Diamond’s amendments.
“Because if you aren’t standing up against this s***** treatment of our neighbors then get out of the way,” McMath wrote. “We are ALL harmed by this grandstanding and misuse of power.”
More recently, McMath warned about what she called attacks on free speech after Florida’s launch of an online portal to “Combat Violent Extremism.”
The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of educators’ online behavior, especially in the wake of recent national political controversies.
“If we are going to weaponize speech based on its content, it not only violates the First Amendment, but will be detrimental to democracy. As the son and grandson of educators, this type of persecution will have a devastating chilling effect on our whole educational system and our children,” Phillips said.