“ISTA condemns violence in all forms, including political violence. Indiana’s educators devote their lives to creating safe and welcoming classrooms, and the vast majority do so with professionalism, care and deep commitment to their students every day.

While celebrating violence is unacceptable, threatening educators’ licenses for lawful speech risks silencing those who are teaching honestly or sharing personal views responsibly. In this moment, our focus should be on keeping students safe and supporting classrooms and communities. Political violence threatens our democracy, but so does censorship.

We stand ready to work with state leaders to ensure that educators can stay focused on what matters most: teaching and supporting Indiana’s students.”