Judge Recommends Dismissing Case Against Clay County Teacher

A Florida judge recommended on Oct. 21 that a misconduct case against a Clay County teacher be dismissed. The ruling concerns Kelly Brock-Sanchez, an exceptional student education teacher at Ridgeview Elementary School. The Department of Education sought to discipline her for a social media post made in September 2025.

Brock-Sanchez posted on her Facebook page on Sept. 10, 2025, the day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah. Her post read: “This may not be the obituary. We [sic] were all hoping to wake up to, but this is a close second for me.” The Department of Education argued that the post was made on a public page and constituted grossly immoral conduct.

Judge Suzanne Van Wyk of the Division of Administrative Hearings found that the department could not prove the post was on a public page. The ruling states that Brock-Sanchez used a private Facebook account under the name “Kelly SteelMagnolia.” Access to the site was controlled by the user and not available to the general public. Her profile did not list her school, and none of her 300 friends were students, parents, or coworkers, except for one union colleague.

The post became widely known after one of her friends shared it on other pages. Van Wyk wrote that Brock-Sanchez did not decide to disseminate the post more broadly. She noted that the consequences of posting to a public account cannot be attributed to the teacher if the account was actually private.

The reaction at Ridgeview Elementary was intense. The principal described the response as “overwhelming.” The school received more than 800 emails and 300 posts on its Facebook page. Many of these messages were threatening. The school also received numerous calls and voicemails. Some teachers left work early that day due to the volume of threats. There was reported fallout among faculty and staff the following day.

The Department of Education claimed that the post necessitated increased security at the school, which cost the district money. They argued that the public nature of the post caused parents to question her qualifications. Van Wyk called the allegation that the post was public a threshold issue. She stated that the other factual allegations flowed from this initial claim.

DOAH rulings are recommendations that state and local agencies do not have to follow. However, this case is part of a larger trend in the state. In 2025, numerous educators posted about Kirk’s death. Then-Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a memo stating he would investigate every educator who engaged in what he called “vile, sanctionable behavior.” Other teachers who were disciplined for similar posts have also had their cases recommended for dismissal by the division.