United States politics
The recordFiled October 16, 2026Checked October 16, 2026
Have the courts that ruled on Charlie Kirk post cases sided with teachers?
Education Week says yes. One federal judge found an Iowa teacher likely to win on free speech, but two others turned teachers away on procedural grounds without deciding the speech question.
Left
Left · Left-leaning US report
Disciplined for Charlie Kirk Posts, These Teachers Fought Back—And Won
Sarah D. Sparks · September 11, 2026
So far, most cases have settled and the few courts that have ruled on Kirk-reaction cases have sided with the teachers.
Right
Right · Right-leaning US report
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Texas Investigations Into Charlie Kirk Death Celebrations
Travis Morgan · August 27, 2026
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright found that the plaintiff’s alleged injuries were not traceable to the Morath letter, since the letter only sought to enforce existing policies.
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FP verdict
Part of this checks out. Part doesn't.
Confidence score: 5/10 — Court records show one ruling for a teacher and two procedural losses; there's no complete national count of Kirk-reaction rulings.
Sourced from U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (copy via KXAN), part of this checks out and a material part does not.
“The few courts that have ruled on Kirk-reaction cases have sided with the teachers.”
The one federal ruling that weighed a teacher's free-speech claim, in Iowa's Creston case, went for the teacher. But in two other federal teacher cases, in Texas and Iowa, judges denied the teachers relief on procedural grounds. Most of the teachers' wins are settlements, not court rulings.
Primary source: Texas American Federation of Teachers v. Morath, No. 1:26-cv-00024-ADA, Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (copy via KXAN))
How the coverage differs
We haven't compared these two articles yet.
Shows its work
How this rating was reached
- Lie
- Doesn't hold up
- Misleading
- Mostly false
- Half true
- Mostly true
- True
- Unproven
This verdict partly aligns with the primary source, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (copy via KXAN): Dismissed without prejudice for lack of standing; the court did not reach the First Amendment claims. Crook v. Creston (S.D. Iowa, Jan. 13, 2026) is the ruling that favored a teacher.
Questions to ask
- If most districts paid to settle rather than defend these firings in court, what does that say about how they expected a judge to rule?
- Will any court rule on the merits of a teacher's Kirk post before the remaining lawsuits settle?
01
The claim
Education Week, Sept. 11, 2026: "So far, most cases have settled and the few courts that have ruled on Kirk-reaction cases have sided with the teachers." The sentence sits in a paragraph reporting what SPLC attorney Sam Boyd said.
02
A ruling for a teacher: Creston, Iowa
In Crook v. Creston Community School District (S.D. Iowa, No. 4:25-cv-00373), Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger granted a temporary restraining order in fall 2025, then on Jan. 13, 2026, granted a partial preliminary injunction, writing: "Thus, Crook spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern in her Facebook comments." She barred further action against Crook but denied reinstatement. The case later settled; NPR reports Crook received $145,000.
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa (copy via WHO 13): Crook v. Creston Community School District, No. 4:25-cv-00373, Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Jan. 13, 2026)
- Secondary reportingIowa Public Radio (Iowa Capital Dispatch): Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher fired for Charlie Kirk comments
- Secondary reportingNPR: First Amendment lawsuits from Charlie Kirk posts get payouts
03
A procedural loss: Texas teachers' union
In Texas American Federation of Teachers v. Morath (W.D. Tex., No. 1:26-cv-00024), filed early in 2026 and argued April 22, Judge Alan Albright's Aug. 21 order states: "The Court now GRANTS Defendant's Motion to Dismiss due to lack of standing. This case is hereby DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE." It found the commissioner's letter "did not announce any new policy or expand on any existing policy" and didn't decide the First Amendment claims.
04
A procedural loss: Iowa licensing board
In February 2026, Chief Judge Stephanie Rose denied teachers Katherine Mejia and Jennifer Smith an injunction against the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, holding that federal courts must stay out of ongoing state licensing proceedings. She still wrote: "The timing, the statewide reach, and the viewpoint-specific framing of the letter present a picture that is, at minimum, deeply troubling."
05
The left-leaning framing
Education Week headlines its story "These Teachers Fought Back—And Won," and its own analysis says the majority of more than a dozen lawsuits "have been settled or decided in favor of educators’ free-speech rights." It does report the Texas dismissal, saying the judge threw out the union's suit "without addressing the substance of those claims." It doesn't mention the Creston injunction or the Iowa licensing ruling.
06
The right-leaning framing
Texas Scorecard's headline calls the posts "Charlie Kirk Death Celebrations." It reports the case was dismissed without prejudice and that "The ruling did not comment on the merits of Texas AFT's constitutional claims."
07
Why it's half true
Where a federal judge weighed a teacher's speech (Creston), the teacher came out ahead. But in the Texas union case and the Iowa licensing case, the courts ruled and the teachers lost, even though neither ruling said their speech was unprotected. "Sided with the teachers" is accurate for one ruling and wrong for two. It isn't Mostly true, because two of the three federal teacher rulings we found denied teachers relief.
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa (copy via WHO 13): Crook v. Creston Community School District, No. 4:25-cv-00373, Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Jan. 13, 2026)
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (copy via KXAN): Texas American Federation of Teachers v. Morath, No. 1:26-cv-00024-ADA, Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (order dated Aug. 21, 2026)
- Secondary reportingIowa Capital Dispatch: Judge calls state response to comments about Charlie Kirk 'deeply troubling'
08
The buried fact
No court has issued a final ruling on whether a teacher's Kirk post was protected speech. The one injunction that found a teacher likely to win, Creston, ended in a settlement while the district's appeal was pending, so the free-speech question was never decided. The teachers' wins Education Week counts are mostly settlements, which are payouts, not rulings.
- PrimaryU.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa (copy via WHO 13): Crook v. Creston Community School District, No. 4:25-cv-00373, Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Jan. 13, 2026)
- Secondary reportingIowa Public Radio (Iowa Capital Dispatch): Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher fired for Charlie Kirk comments
- Secondary reportingNPR: First Amendment lawsuits from Charlie Kirk posts get payouts
- Secondary reportingEducation Week: Disciplined for Charlie Kirk Posts, These Teachers Fought Back—And Won
09
What each side gets right, and hides
Education Week is right that teachers have mostly come out ahead, but it counts settlements as wins and skips the Iowa licensing ruling that went against teachers. Texas Scorecard accurately reports the Texas dismissal and notes it didn't reach the merits, but its headline frames every post as a celebration of murder.
- Secondary reportingEducation Week: Disciplined for Charlie Kirk Posts, These Teachers Fought Back—And Won
- Secondary reportingTexas Scorecard: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Texas Investigations Into Charlie Kirk Death Celebrations
- Secondary reportingIowa Capital Dispatch: Judge calls state response to comments about Charlie Kirk 'deeply troubling'
10
The question to ask
If most districts paid to settle rather than defend these firings in court, what does that say about how they expected a judge to rule?
Reporting only: no specific source link.
Caveats and limits
Not verified
- We did not find a complete national list of Kirk-reaction court rulings, so other rulings may exist.
- Open question: Will any court rule on the merits of a teacher's Kirk post before the remaining lawsuits settle?
Caveats
- Education Week's sentence closely follows a quote from SPLC attorney Sam Boyd, who represents a teacher in one of these cases; it may reflect his view as much as the outlet's.
- The Texas and Iowa licensing rulings are procedural: dismissal without prejudice for lack of standing, and abstention while state proceedings run. Neither decided whether the teachers' speech was protected.
- A related Texas case, Fisher v. Texas Tech, involves a law student, not a teacher. A judge denied her emergency relief on state-immunity grounds on May 12, 2026, and on Aug. 14 dismissed her First Amendment claim for failing to allege a clearly established violation, a qualified-immunity standard, not a finding that her speech was unprotected. Her race-discrimination claims continue, and her appeal is docketed at the 5th Circuit as Fisher v. Texas Tech University, No. 26-10536, opened June 8, 2026.
- Administrative unemployment hearings in Iowa split: one judge awarded benefits to a fired teacher, another found an art teacher's post caused substantial disruption. Those aren't court rulings on the First Amendment.
Sources
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Secondary reporting
Secondary reporting
Secondary reporting
First Amendment lawsuits from Charlie Kirk posts get payoutsNPR · June 23, 2026
Primary · official record
Secondary reporting
Disciplined for Charlie Kirk Posts, These Teachers Fought Back—And WonEducation Week · Sarah D. Sparks · September 11, 2026
Secondary reporting
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Texas Investigations Into Charlie Kirk Death CelebrationsTexas Scorecard · Travis Morgan · August 27, 2026
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