Hawaii teacher disciplined over Constitution lesson mentioning Charlie Kirk

A middle school history teacher in Hawaii was disciplined by school officials after a discussion of Charlie Kirk in a Constitution Day lesson, according to a legal group.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has sent a warning letter to the USA Hawaii Department of Education on Oct. 16, alleging that the teacher’s right to free speech had been violated.

The letter, which blacked out the names of the teacher, school and administration, said the incident occurred on Sept. 17 when the teacher was teaching the Bill of Rights as part of her federally mandated Constitution Day lesson. During a class discussion, the teacher stated that “hate speech” is protected by the Constitution, prompting a student to point to the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk and say he was “killed because of his speech.”

The teacher then asked the students to name other people who were killed because of their speech. According to the information, the students identified Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln the ACLJ.

Another student mentioned that someone tried to assassinate the president Donald Trump for his speech, while another student suggested that such an act was acceptable.

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According to the letter, the teacher immediately corrected the student and told the class that obituaries were not protected speech and that violence was never an acceptable response to disagreement.

During her next class, another student brought it up again Kirk’s murderand the teacher agreed that he had been shot because of his speech.

The ACLJ maintains that the teacher did not express any political opinion and remained neutral throughout the discussion. However, later that day she was invited to a meeting with the assistant principal, who said the discussion about Kirk had been too “controversial” for class.

A parent had reportedly complained about the conversation and the deputy headteacher told the teacher she had an obligation to “stop” any further discussion of controversial topics. A week later, he emailed a memo warning that she would face disciplinary action if she did not comply.

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The ACLJ said the policy violates state education policy, which allows student discussions on topics that “generate opposing viewpoints” as a “normal part of the learning process.” Additionally, the group argued that the teacher included the Bill of Rights lesson in her curriculum so that parents would be aware of the topic in advance.

At a later meeting with the vice principal and principal, the teacher objected to the memo and was reportedly told all she could do was talk about it First Amendment in the context of the founding of America, not in relation to current events.

The principal said the memo would be placed in her file, but denied it was a punishment and said it would “give administrators something to hold on to” if they decided to discipline her in the future.

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The ACLJ argues that the school violated the teacher’s First Amendment rights and invoked viewpoint discrimination by targeting her while allowing other teachers to connect constitutional issues to modern examples.

The group called for the memo to be immediately removed from the teacher’s file and an assurance that no further disciplinary action would be taken or taken in the matter.

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Written confirmation is also required that teachers will not be forced to silence students during approved lessons and that instruction will continue Constitutional rights is not considered “controversial.”

The ACLJ told Fox News Digital that it has pushed back the original Oct. 23 deadline for a response from the Hawaii Department of Education to Nov. 6 before deciding whether to file a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alleging that the teacher’s civil rights were violated and that officials intervened in state-mandated Constitution Day classes would have intervened.

The Hawaii Department of Education did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was killed on September 10th while debating a Utah campus.

The conservative influencer’s death has sparked a wave of campus activism focused on free speech.