First Amendment advocates warn that Gov. Mike Braun’s teacher licensure threat goes too far. Photo by Getty Images.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun warned Wednesday that teachers who post online in celebration of political violence could face suspension or even revocation of their professional licenses.

But free speech advocates quickly raised concerns that the governor’s threat risks trampling constitutional protections and chilling lawful speech.

Braun’s comments followed the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist who was killed at a college speaking event in Utah last week.

Braun emphasized that Indiana’s Secretary of Education “has the authority to suspend or revoke a license for misconduct and the office will review reported statements of K-12 teachers and administrators who have made statements to celebrate or incite political violence.”

“My initial reaction was, I don’t understand why he would call for suspending, like revoking, a teacher’s license,” David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, said. He noted that Indiana law typically ties license revocations to criminal acts or serious misconduct.

State and school officials “would be totally justified, in many situations,” to cancel a teacher’s contract, Keating added, “but I just think it’s a tougher thing to go and revoke a license.”

He also pushed back on Braun’s claim that “calls for political violence are not freedom of speech.”

“That’s actually not true,” Keating said. “You are allowed to call for violent overthrow of the government. You’re allowed to even call for assassinations. Obviously, this is not the sort of thing that you want an elementary school teacher to have in their background. But I don’t think it meets the standards for a license revocation.”

Licenses Under Review?

It remains unclear whether any licensure reviews are already underway in Indiana, however.

Agency spokesperson Courtney Bearsch said in a Thursday statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle that — upon being notified of a complaint against an educator — IDOE “investigates to determine whether the facts meet the statutory threshold for suspension or revocation.”

David Keating

If the facts are “sufficient to satisfy statute,” a formal complaint is then filed with the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, initiating the administrative process. Under state statute, OALP serves as the final administrative authority in issuing an order on an educator’s license.

“Teachers still have First Amendment rights when they’re talking as private citizens about matters of public concern on their social media or anywhere else,” Stevie Pactor, an attorney with the ACLU of Indiana, said. “This idea of chilling their speech is absolutely where my mind went to.”

She pointed to a line from a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which asserted that “The First Amendment needs breathing space to survive.”

Pactor continued, “These posts are clearly their private speech.”

Indiana’s Constitution also has its own speech protections.

What The Law Says — And What’s Less Clear

Indiana law gives state education officials authority to suspend or revoke a teacher’s license under limited circumstances.

The Department of Education is permitted by statute to take such action “upon the written recommendation of the state superintendent of public instruction” if a teacher is found guilty of “(1) immorality; (2) misconduct in office; (3) incompetency; or (4) willful neglect of duty.”

But because “immorality” is not defined in state code, how it applies to off-duty speech — especially speech on personal social media accounts — is open to interpretation, Keating said.

The free speech expert noted, too, that the legal definition of incitement requires more than offensive online rhetoric.

“Some random person posting on social media — just for whoever out there might or might not be reading it — that’s not incitement,” Keating added, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brandenburg test, which limits punishable incitement to speech likely to produce imminent lawless action.

State law also spells out what qualifies as “official misconduct.” According to Indiana Code, a public servant commits official misconduct if they knowingly or intentionally commit an offense while performing their official duties; solicit or accept unauthorized property in connection with their work; misuse nonpublic information for personal gain; or fail to turn over public records or property to a successor. The statute classifies the offense as a Level 6 felony.

Stevie Pactor

Administrative rules also provide more detail on how the license review process works.

Under Indiana’s Administrative Code, a license suspension can last up to three years, while a revocation can extend for an indeterminate period. A teacher whose license is revoked has the ability to petition for reinstatement after three years.

Proceedings to suspend or revoke a license are subject to public hearings and can take months or years to resolve.

To discipline a teacher for their speech, Pactor said it must cause “significant disruption” to learning or district operation.

She stressed that licensing actions face the same constitutional constraints as school discipline. If the state proceeds with discipline, Pactor said litigation is likely.

A Wave Of Scrutiny

Braun’s threat comes as other educators and public employees have already faced consequences for social media posts about Kirk’s killing.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Todd Rokita has directed his office to investigate similar statements made by K-12 teachers. His “Eyes on Education” online portal — a site already used to collect complaints about schools — now features a section highlighting social media posts by educators that appear to justify or celebrate Kirk’s death.

The Indiana State Teachers Association condemned violence but warned Braun’s threat could chill lawful speech.