JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Jacksonville educators are filing lawsuits against Duval County Public Schools for what their attorney describes as “recent biased persecution, suspension and possible termination” over online speech.
Attorney John Phillips is representing prominent Jacksonville activist and adjunct Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher Hope McMath and 20-year-old Oak Hill Academy paraeducator Haley Bartlett in the lawsuits.
READ: McMath lawsuit against DCPS | Bartlett lawsuit against DCPS
McMath, a part-time AP Art History teacher at DA, came under fire after sharing posts on her Facebook page that included controversial comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and one post referencing a Jacksonville councilman.
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 amendments were defeated.
In her post, McMath referred to Diamond as a “grand wizard,” a reference to leaders of the Ku Klux Klan.
Those remarks and others ultimately led to her being temporarily reassigned from her position while the district conducted an investigation. She has been suspended since September.
“Ms. McMath was and is an exemplary leader and teacher. Her complainant, according to DCPS officials, is solely Moms for Liberty,” Phillips said in a news release about the lawsuits.
Moms for Liberty is a far-right American political organization that advocates for parental rights in education and against school curricula that mention LGBTQ rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and discrimination.
Phillips argues that Moms for Liberty is closely aligned with Turning Point, the organization Kirk founded, and pointed to recent backlash over Duval County School Board members wearing pink “This Is The Turning Point” shirts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Some parents believe the message linked the board members to the conservative group founded by Kirk.
Phillips said these same Board leaders called McMath and those like her “evil” or accused her of “inciting violence and war.”
“This lawsuit is designed not only to recover damages, but to permanently enjoin these ‘leaders’ from further First Amendment and Constitutional violations,” Phillips said.
Phillips is also representing Bartlett who was suspended months ago after he said she “simply reposted a video which was designed to put Charlie Kirk’s words and beliefs in context.”
Phillips argued that not only was the comment protected political speech, “but wasn’t even her ‘speech.’”
Phillips said Bartlett, who takes care of children with severe autism and less abled students, has been sitting alone in a room “with no explanation, no complaint, no due process and now has to file a lawsuit to restore her rights and get her back in the classroom.”
These incidents come 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,” Phillips said in a statement. “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.”