JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Duval County teacher has filed a lawsuit against the school system, its board members, the state school board, and a partisan nonprofit, claiming she has been removed from her classroom for months and “unfairly targeted” because of her personal political viewpoints.
Plaintiff Hope McMath filed her lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
The named defendants include Duval County Public Schools, Charlotte Joyce, April Carney, Melody Bolduc, Reginald Blount, Anthony Ricardo, the Florida Department of Education, Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, Moms for Liberty Inc. and Moms for Liberty’s Duval chapter.
“Hope McMath was unfairly targeted as part of a larger campaign which targeted similarly situated teachers across the county over protected speech found disagreeable to this political non-profit and government leaders after the murder of Turning Point USA’s founder, Charlie Kirk,” her 82-page filing states.
McMath says her lawsuit – and ones like it – stem from the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting in September. Kirk, known as a political activist and media personality, co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA and hosted The Charlie Kirk Show. He also traveled the country, hosting a question-and-answer tour where audience members would debate Kirk.
In her complaint, McMath claims she posted political speech on her own time and on her personal social media – Facebook and/or Instagram – that subjected her to persecution by the defendants. McMath was employed by Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a Duval public school in Jacksonville, where she has taught Advanced Placement art history since 2024.
“Ms. McMath’s statements were in no way affiliated with her job as a part-time educator,” her filing states. “Ms. McMath has never promoted her social media to students.
“In fact, McMath routinely told / tells her students they were / are not allowed to engage with her on social media.”
She added she “routinely blocks” any identified students and their identifiable parents who like, comment, follow, or friend her personal social media pages.
In her filing, she noted there is no known student of hers who claims, or has claimed, they were harmed, subjected to political viewpoints, accessed, or were influenced by her political opinions.
“There is no improper conduct, victimization, crime or claim in any classroom or schoolhouse whatsoever,” the complaint states. “Ms. McMath has been removed from her classroom and school for months as a sole result of a political group (and its allies) at war with its perceived political ‘liberal’ opponents.”
The group McMath is referring to is Moms for Liberty. The political organization is known for advocating against school curriculums that mention LGBTQ rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and discrimination. Multiple chapters also have campaigned to ban books that address gender and sexuality from school libraries.
The 501(c)(4)’s self-described mission, “is to organize, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”
Joyce, chair of the Duval County school board, allegedly signed a pledge to Moms for Liberty in November 2022 and was endorsed by the organization. McMath alleges Joyce has “specifically censured and referenced” her speech.
Carney, vice chair of the school board, also signed a pledge and is on record as being a member of Moms for Liberty.
Bolduc, a member of the board, also is listed as a member of Moms for Liberty on her official campaign website.
Fellow board member Ricardo also was endorsed by Moms for Liberty.
Kamoutsas, the FDOE commissioner, allegedly has instituted disciplinary proceedings against McMath and spoke out against her.
“Plaintiff’s free speech has been chilled now, and in the future, as she has been deprived of her very livelihood as a consequence of her speech,” her complaint states. “The First Amendment forbids the Defendants from unreasonably regulating speech or discriminating against speech on the basis of viewpoint during Board meetings.”
She contends the defendants are promoting one political agenda over another.
“Unless the actions, policies, and practices of Defendant are enjoined by this Court, Plaintiff will suffer the continuing loss of her constitutional rights and Jacksonville’s public schools will continue to be places of fear, suppression and aggression,” her filing states.
McMath seeks damages, attorneys’ fees, and declaratory and injunctive relief against the defendants for their alleged violation of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
She has retained Phillips Hunt & Walker LLC to represent her in the action. The case was recently reassigned to Senior Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger.
A similar case was filed by plaintiff Haley Bartlett, another Duval County educator.
Bartlett, a paraprofessional at Oakhill Academy in Jacksonville, also filed her lawsuit last month in the Middle District of Florida. The only named defendant is Duval County Public Schools.
In her 53-page complaint, Bartlett contends she did not even speak, but merely reposted someone else’s political speech on her own time, on her own device, and on her own personal social media via TikTok.
“Ms. Bartlett did not post statements of her own, but regardless these statements were in no way affiliated with her job as a paraeducator,” her filing states. “Ms. Bartlett never brought politics or political opinion into the classroom.”
Bartlett noted that her classroom was unlike others in that her students exhibit an “array” of autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities, “some of them quite significant and disabling.”
“It was never even a topic of incidental debate,” she wrote of any political discussions.
Phillips Hunt also is representing Bartlett in her lawsuit.
