Earlier this year, Austin Independent School District (Austin ISD) teacher Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy said she was pulled into a “check-in meeting” with school administration over a list of concerns. Most notably among them: “We’ve noticed an intentional attempt in teaching your students about their legal and constitutional rights.”
TikTok: @soph4president / Via tiktok.com
In response to this, Sophia made a TikTok video documenting the administration’s notes on her teaching, as well as the events that would later play out – including her subsequently being placed on leave and terminated.
Over 3.2 million people have viewed Sophia’s now-viral video and tens of thousands followed her account in hopes of keeping up with this quickly turning story.
So what happened? Well, in line with Texas Senate Bill 1828, which mandates that all state schools hold a Holocaust Remembrance Week to teach history surrounding genocide, Hitler’s dangerous rise to power, and concentration camps, Sophia conducted a lesson on Hitler’s use of education. “My students learned about recognizing propaganda and why Hitler went into schools to teach nazi ideology and nationalism,” she told BuzzFeed.
Students made parallels to signs of nationalism they were familiar with, including the US practice of having students recite the pledge of allegiance every morning in schools.
As a part of the lesson, students also learned about rights US citizens have today in comparison to restrictions placed on those in 1940s Germany. And this led some to practice protesting, Sophia explained. “The issue my admin had wasn’t with the lesson plan, but with my students’ decision to protest the pledge of allegiance by sitting and not reciting it with the rest of the school,” she said. “They have loved learning about their first amendment protection of freedom of speech and have been excited by protest movements all throughout the year.”
However, it’s important to note that Texas in particular has a law mandating every single student to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and the Texas state flag daily.
According to Sophia, her students’ protest was seen as “indoctrination” by administration. “My vice principal said she was concerned I was ‘indoctrinating’ my students,” the 27-year-old said. “She didn’t believe that they were smart enough to make the decision to protest the pledge on their own and that they didn’t ‘fully understand a decision that big.'”
This was not the first time Sophia butted heads with admin. Previously, she said the school discouraged teachers from speaking on basic women’s health. “During human physiology week…I was not allowed to tell my students that I also have a period because I have a uterus.”
Then, on April 27, Sophia said the head of HR recommended she be put on leave and that her contract not be renewed for the next school year.
In a letter Sophia sent to BuzzFeed that is addressed by the school district’s Chief Human Capital Officer, recommendations for her termination were based on the following:
“Use of a computer, school mail, or any other means of communication that is harassing, offensive, or disruptive to the school operations; and any activity, school-connected or otherwise, that, because of publicity given it, orknowledge of it among students, faculty, and community, impairs or diminishes the employee’s effectiveness in the District.”
In Sophia’s eyes, she says her termination is the result of “embarrass[ing] my administrator in a TikTok.”
In a statement sent to parents, Sophia said the administration, “Clarified that the reason I was pulled from the classroom had nothing to do with the list of concerns I received from [admin], not a parent complaint from our campus, nor anything to do with the subject matter I was teaching or how I was dressed. I was pulled from teaching and investigated strictly because of the TikTok that went viral overnight.”
BuzzFeed reached out to Austin ISD for comment. We’ll update you if or when they respond.
This incident comes amidst much controversy surrounding the state of Texas and laws passed that restrict fact-based education.
For one, educators state-wide are encouraged to share “opposing views” when teaching about the Holocaust. And, according to the Texas Tribune, Texas has banned more books than any other state – most of which include works with POC or LGBT+ characters and stories at their center.
Meanwhile, schools across the nation are experiencing a shortage of educators as the professionals fight for better pay and more respect within the classroom. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 300,000 public school educators quit their jobs between February 2020 and May 2022, and 77% of teachers in Texas say they’ve seriously considered quitting.
Sophia’s now-former school district Austin ISD has more than 250 openings, non-profit Raise Your Hand Texas reports.
Though Sophia is heartbroken over the events, she acknowledged that she understands her path forward and plans to “put more of my focus” on work in the non-profit space, “motivating young voters,” and helping her community where she can.
If you’d like to keep up with Sophia, you can follow her on TikTok.
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