A Florida social studies teacher with Orange County Public Schools says he was censored for posting a Charlie Kirk poster in his classroom, among which are posters with quotes of inspiration from other figures.
The poster in William Loggans‘ classroom shows an image of Kirk beside the following quote: “Never underestimate the power of your voice and the impact you can have on the world when you speak up for what you believe in.”
A student of Loggans had sent a complaint to the school, prompting the administration to ask the teacher for the poster’s removal. He filed a grievance with the district thereafter.
“They admitted that the poster didn’t say anything controversial and was inspirational, but that Charlie Kirk was a controversial political figure and that it would have to come down,” Loggans said.
Anthony Sabatini, Loggans’ lawyer, commented on the matter, claiming the district is showing a double standard in its censure of Loggans’ Charlie Kirk poster.
“For example, there’s another classroom at a high school that has a picture of Barack Obama, and it has a slogan on it like dream big, reach for the stars, whatever. Again, that’s fine,” Sabatini said. “It isn’t that they’re shutting down all these posters. They’re shutting down one poster of one teacher, and it just so happens to be Charlie Kirk, and the only reason they’re doing it is because he’s Republican and they don’t like that.”
The district stated that the action of removing the poster was based on a prior board memorandum, which was issued on September 11. The district maintained its actions were consistent with its own policy on the display of political messaging in classrooms.
“We understand many are grieving the tragic death of Charlie Kirk. The district asked that the poster be removed to maintain classroom neutrality, consistent with our policy prohibiting political or partisan displays. Our goal is a respectful, inclusive learning environment for all students,” the district stated.
