Administrative judge sides with Florida instructor regarding Charlie Kirk post

The Florida Department of Education failed to prove its allegations that a Clay County public school instructor violated state laws and rules when she posted about conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was killed, a state administrative judge has ruled.

The case involves Kelly Brock-Sanchez, an Exceptional Student Education facilitator at Ridgeview Elementary in Orange Park when Kirk was shot and killed in Utah in September 2025.

“This might not be the obituary we were hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second to me,” she initially posted on her private Facebook page under the pseudonym “Kelly Steele Magnolia” that Sept. 10.

She wrote a second post about Kirk the next day, Sept. 11: “Charlie Kirk had 2 kids and STILL SAID gun deaths were the cost to keep the 2nd Amendment…this philosophy led to his own death becoming an acceptable cost…one of the top five Trump surrogates. One less evil person on this planet.”

After Brock-Sanchez’ posted privately about Kirk, it was quickly copied and went viral within hours.

Officials at Ridgeview said they received more than 800 emails regarding the post, 300 posts on ts Facebook page, some of which were threatening, and numerous calls and voicemails.

In her ruling on Wednesday, Division of Administrative Hearings Judge Suzanne Van Wyk wrote that that although Brock-Sanchez’ first post “was clearly impulsive, and may have been reckless, thoughtless, offensive, and even callous,” the Department of Education had failed to prove the five specific allegations made against her.

“The allegation that Respondent’s post was made on a public social media account is a threshold allegation from which the rest of the material factual allegations flow — that it constituted grossly immoral conduct, that it caused parents to question her qualifications as an educator, and that the overwhelming response to her post necessitated increased security at Ridgeview which cost the District money,” Van Wyck wrote. “Without establishing that material threshold issue, Petitioner failed to prove all the material allegations in the Administrative Complaint.”

The judge noted that each of the allegations was predicated on Brock-Sanchez having posted her opinion on a “public social media account” for the all the world to see.

“She did not,” she writes. “Though someone decided to more broadly disseminate the post, Respondent did not make that decision, and the consequences of posting to a ‘public’ account cannot be attributed to her.”

Backlash

Brock-Sanchez was one of several Florida educators who posted messages about Kirk immediately following his death that Sept. 10. The next day, then-Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a public letter informing all school districts that he planned investigations of every educator who “engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”

On Sept. 22, 12 days after Kirk’s death and her social media posts, Kamoutsas said he had found “probable cause” to seek the permanent revocation of Brock-Sanchez’ educator’s certificate. He said she had violated three statutes and two rules in the Florida Administrative Code.

“This teacher’s comments were grossly immoral, reduced her effectiveness in the classroom, failed to protect the health, safety and welfare of students, and did not distinguish her personal views from that of a public educational institution,” he wrote. “Accordingly, I am seeking a permanent revocation of this teacher’s license.”

Following an investigation, Clay County Superintendent David S. Broskie that Sept. 25 recommended to the school board that Brock-Sanchez’ contract be terminated effective Oct. 2, which it was.

Brock-Sanchez says her attorney will now go back to the Clay County School Board to see whether members want to come a financial settlement or go back to court.

Brock-Sanchez has also filed a federal lawsuit against Kamoutsas in his official capacity, alleging violation of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and that the administrative complaint he filed constituted “governmental retaliation for protected speech.” That case is set to go to trial in November 2027.

Kamoutsas stepped down as education commissioner in July to become president of Polk State College.

600 people

A Reuters investigation last November estimated that 600 people across the country had been terminated, disciplined, investigated, suspended, or otherwise admonished for their Kirk posts, likening the reaction to an ideological purge.

In addition to teachers who have won their cases in Florida after being fired for posting about Kirk’s death, employees with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have also been successful in fighting for their rights after being terminated for such messages.

Last month, the agency agreed to settle free-speech lawsuits by three employees who’d been fired over posts about Kirk’s death, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.