A Florida judge recommends dropping administrative charges against Hope McMath over controversial social media posts, yet the final decision is pending.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida administrative law judge is recommending the state drop all charges against a Jacksonville teacher who faces possible suspension or revocation of her teaching certificate over a social media post made after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Judge Garnett W. Chisenhall of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings issued a recommended order Thursday, Sept. 17 in the case against Hope McMath, an art teacher who worked at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
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Chisenhall recommended that the Florida Education Practices Commission issue a final order dismissing the charges against McMath.
The recommendation is not yet a final decision. The parties have 15 days from the date of the order to submit written exceptions to the Florida Education Practices Commission, who will issue the final order.
“More on Monday, but for now we can move forward from a place of strength,” McMath said in a Facebook post the day after the order was filed. “For today, at least, art won, free speech [won], truth [won]. And justice is getting closer.”
What the state accused McMath of
The Florida Department of Education filed an administrative complaint against McMath on Oct. 8, 2025, alleging five misconduct violations stemming from posts on her Facebook account.
The state alleged McMath committed gross immorality, engaged in personal conduct that seriously reduced her effectiveness as a district employee and violated Florida’s Principles of Professional Conduct for educators.
The allegations centered on two social media posts.
On the day Kirk was killed in September 2025, McMath posted, “Karma’s a b**** – and she heard all your speeches when you proudly proclaimed that you didn’t give a s*** about other people’s lives.”
She also shared an image depicting author E. Jean Carroll holding what appeared to be the severed head of President Donald Trump.
McMath said she was not celebrating Kirk’s death, adding that the image of Carroll holding Trump’s severed head had symbolic significance related to women overcoming abuse.
McMath was removed from her classroom and reassigned to the district’s Art Resource Center, where she had no teaching duties.
The order says DCPS investigated the matter and determined the allegations were substantiated, resulting in a verbal warning, coaching and counseling and the temporary reassignment. Chisenhall wrote in the order that McMath’s conduct did not rise to the level of “gross immorality.”
McMath is set to speak out in a press conference on Monday, Sept. 21.