Florida teachers, school staff caught by 'gotcha police' as DeSantis culture wars heat up

A Tallahassee middle school principal became ensnarled in Florida’s election-year culture war when she landed in a social-media feedback loop created by a state representative who wants her fired for Facebook comments about the challenges of working in public schools.  

Educators, academics, Democratic lawmakers, and labor union leaders say the politically motivated threat to Sarah Hembree’s 15-year career is the latest incident in an ongoing conservative-led attack on public education powered by a social media patrol. They say it poses a threat to the free speech rights of all public sector employees. 

Hembree took to Facebook in March when the Legislature was debating two bills restricting how racial history and sexuality are taught in public schools — initiatives pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Back story: 

• Florida Legislature passes 'Don't Say Gay' bill, sends to Gov. DeSantis for signature
• Minutes after bill is signed, lawsuit filed against DeSantis for 'Stop WOKE Act'

The Parental Rights in Education and Stop WOKE acts ban critical race theory and the discussion of sexual identity before Grade 4, though educators are quick to point out that neither is occurring in public schools. 

Under the headline “What teachers really want,” Hembree pleaded with parents. 

"I am SO TIRED of being told we don’t know what we are doing or that we are messing with parents’ rights. Two years ago we were heroes — and proved that we are the backbone of many social services," she wrote. "Today I say — Parents, Quit pushing for stupid bills and getting in our way. Legislatures, Education is not your lane — get out of it."

"Schools are going to do what’s best for your students in spite of you," she continued. "But they are going to run out of people to care for your students if you keep it up. Love, A Tired Principal"

The anatomy of an outrage

DeSantis signed both bills into law and a social media patrol energized by the controversy noticed Hembree’s post and alerted allied media along with Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe. 

Shoaf took to Facebook and said Sarah Hembree must go because, “she thinks parents are getting in her way” at Cobb Middle School.  

His supporters applauded Shoaf for standing up for parental rights, with one poster comparing Hembree's remarks to those of instructors in Castro's communist Cuba.  

Hembree’s supporters complain Shoaf has taken the comment out of context, with Rep. Alison Tant, D-Tallahassee, giving the Hembree post a thumbs up. 

Tallahassee Reports and an aligned conservative digital news service distributed a story about Shoaf outing the rogue principal who blocks parents at the schoolhouse door. 

The incident became a cause on Tallahassee talk radio and a handful of people showed up Tuesday at a Leon County School Board meeting calling for Hembree's ouster.

Schools on the front lines:

• With Ron DeSantis stoking culture war issues, school boards emerge as major Florida battleground
• 'This is censorship': Florida high school's yearbook on hold over photos protesting so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law

“Thank God for our great governor, for that great bill. She calls that bill stupid. She said that she’s a tired principal. She should stay her butt home if she’s tired,” Jason Levy told the Leon County School Board. 

Superintendent Rocky Hanna, who was not at the meeting but speaking beforehand, said he believed Hembree's comments were taken out of context and viewed the controversy as part of a continual attack on public education by the Republican majority at the Capital.  

"It's being controlled by the governor. The legislature is controlled by the governor, the judiciary is being controlled by the governor. Every single thing that happens is, is calculated by our current governor," Hanna told the Democrat Monday night.

A political hit or consequences of speech

Hembree did not respond for comment on this story, but Hanna dismissed Shoaf’s complaints as part of a narrative spun by DeSantis and statehouse Republicans “to pit parents against schools and teachers."   

“They don’t care about the truth, all that matters is their ability to dominate every single aspect of government,” said Hanna, adding DeSantis and lawmakers “are drunk with power.”   

A 34-year veteran educator, Hanna added it is a dark day for Florida teachers with lawmakers making them “worried about what they can and can't say in their classes."  

“They’ve turned the Department of Education into the gotcha police — a parent runs to DOE and anything they say leads to an investigation, and tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees,” said Hanna. “This is not helpful.”  

Andrew Spar, who leads the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest labor union, said lawmakers have turned education policy into a political football with the goal of tackling political issues like parental rights but not operational ones, like addressing a massive statewide teacher shortage.  

Hembree-like stories with parents petitioning school boards about political issues he said are being played out in Brevard, Duval, Sarasota, Hillsborough counties and elsewhere.  

“I think this is an attempt to try to turn parents against public schools and it’s being done for political motive,” said Spar. “And I think that’s what you see over, and over and over again.” 

Conservative radio host Preston Scott, host of “The Morning Show with Preston Scott” on WFLA-FM (100.7), attended Tuesday night's School Board and encouraged parents to join.

“Perhaps those who think parents should have no input, no say, no rights about what is being taught to children in school in a system that they pay for should not be in education,” he told the board.

Hembree’s plight does appear to have the hallmark of a political hit, said Georgetown labor scholar and retired Professor John Russo. 

It was executed through meshing social and political spaces into a self-feeding information loop to make a constituency and an issue to appear larger and more serious than they really are. 

“There's a general sort of understanding that they (political operatives) can create these feedback loops, to take advantage of the cultural divides that exist,” said Russo. “Social media gives them camouflage."

Russo said the outrage is right in step with the DeSantis Disney fight over the "Don’t Say Gay" bill. He agrees with Democratic lawmakers and the United Faculty of Florida chapter at Florida State University that threats over Hembree’s Facebook posting have a chilling effect on the speech of all public sector employees. 

“This time they are using social media to economically blackmail and intimidate an individual. This will have a chilling effect for all public sector workers who may question the prevailing conservative wisdom and values,” said Russo. “It is undemocratic and reeks of authoritarian behavior.” 

Shoaf disagrees. 

“As Americans we all enjoy the right to free speech but that does not shield us from the consequences of that speech,” Shoaf told the Democrat. 

Shoaf said he spoke not only as one of Leon County state representatives but also as a father of middle school students. 

"Her comments were defiant, extreme and unacceptable," said Shoaf. "The repercussions of which cannot be ignored."

Cobb is in the district of Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee.

When asked about the outrage over the “stupid bills” comment, she responded, “This is ridiculous.  

“Teachers were in the Capital regularly testifying and are in the public record on these bills,” explained Tant. “She has every right to express her concern as any other citizen.”  

Sen. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, said the new laws have “opened the floodgates for vigilante justice,” just as she and others predicted would happen if HB 7 and HB 1557 were approved.  

The legislation encourages parents to monitor schools and file lawsuits if they spot violations.  

“Who wants to put themselves in the position of being punished or fired for doing their job, looking out for the best interests of their students,” said Ausley. “The bills we passed this session are going to make a statewide teacher shortage worse.”  

Concern spills into higher education

The labor union representing faculty at Florida State University has taken notice of what they see as a threat to First Amendment rights against educators who would question conservative initiatives.

The United Faculty of Florida seeks a provision in its collective bargaining agreement guaranteeing faculty will not be punished for expressing an opinion in or out of the classroom – even if it is not a topic they teach or study.  

“We try to ensure that we are able to do our job,” said Jack Fiorito, vice president of the UFF FSU chapter.  

“Many faculty realize that while today it’s only A, B, and C topics, it could soon be X, Y, and Z as well,” said Fiorito. “We want to ensure we maintain our constitutional rights … even its not a topic we teach or study.”  

In any event, Hembree’s job seems to be safe. When asked a second time about the Facebook incident Hanna said, “This is just ridiculous. Another example of how divisive this county and state has become under current leadership.”

Tallahassee Democrat Reporter Ana Goñi-Lessan contributed to this report. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

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