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Clay County school board fired teacher Kelly Brock-Sanchez over off-duty Charlie Kirk posts as Florida sought to revoke her license

On October 2, 2025, the Clay County, Florida school board terminated Exceptional Student Education teacher Kelly Brock-Sanchez, acting on Superintendent David Broskie's September 25 recommendation, over posts she had made about activist Charlie Kirk's death on a private, pseudonymous Facebook account while off duty. Days earlier, on September 22, Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas announced he had found probable cause to seek permanent revocation of her teaching certificate, part of a statewide campaign to discipline educators whose Kirk-related posts he deemed sanctionable.

Jurisdiction
local
Location
Orange Park, Florida

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Clay County School Board (terminated the teacher's contract)
  • David S. Broskie (Superintendent, Clay County School District; recommended termination)
  • Anastasios Kamoutsas (Florida Education Commissioner; sought permanent revocation of the teaching certificate)

On October 2, 2025, the Clay County School Board terminated the contract of Kelly Brock-Sanchez, an Exceptional Student Education teacher, one week after Superintendent David S. Broskie recommended her removal on September 25. The action followed posts Brock-Sanchez had written on September 10 — the day activist Charlie Kirk was killed — on a private Facebook account she maintained under the pseudonym "Kelly Steele Magnolia," in which she disparaged Kirk. Broskie cited more than 500 complaints the district said it had received about the posts.

The firing came amid a broader state effort. On September 22, 2025, Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas announced he had found probable cause to seek permanent revocation of Brock-Sanchez's educator certificate, lodging an administrative complaint that charged her with gross immorality and failing to protect students' welfare. Kamoutsas had launched a statewide campaign days earlier to investigate every educator whose posts about Kirk's death he considered sanctionable, and Brock-Sanchez was one of several Florida public employees to face discipline or dismissal over such speech.

Updates

2026-01-27 — Brock-Sanchez sued the education commissioner over her license [1, 2]

Brock-Sanchez filed a federal lawsuit against Kamoutsas, arguing that pursuing revocation of her certificate for off-duty, private speech violated the First Amendment and exceeded his legal authority. The state moved to dismiss, contending she lacked standing because the Florida Education Practices Commission, not the commissioner, decides certificate discipline; as of mid-2026 the motion remained pending and an administrative hearing was scheduled for August 2026.

Why we recorded this

The First Amendment protects public employees' off-duty speech on matters of public concern. We record this because a Florida school district fired a teacher, and the state moved to strip her professional license, over political opinions she posted from a private, pseudonymous account while not at work. When government employers and licensing authorities punish public workers for lawful speech made on their own time, they turn public employment into a tool for policing which viewpoints an educator is permitted to hold.

Sources

  1. Clay County teacher fired after Charlie Kirk post fights for professional survival — Florida Phoenix primary accessed July 3, 2026
  2. Clay County teacher suspended over Charlie Kirk comments files lawsuit against Florida education commissioner — News4JAX (WJXT) secondary accessed July 3, 2026

See also