High school English teacher Amy Donofrio set out to be more inclusive of the Robert E. Lee High School student body in Jacksonville, Florida, which is 70% Black according to NPR. In 2015, she co-founded the school’s EVAC Movement, where students could discuss racism and violence in their neighborhoods. She has also shown her supported for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement.
Last fall, she placed a BLM flag outside of her classroom, standing in solidarity with Reginald Boston, a former EVAC member who was shot and killed by Jacksonville police. Claiming that the flag violates Duval County School District policy, Donofrio’s school district ordered her to remove it and eventually placed her on leave after she said no.
Teacher Amy Donofrio hung a Black Lives Matter flag outside her classroom. When she refused to take it down, administrators reassigned her to non-teaching duties.
Now, she’s taking them to court — arguing it was a violation of her First Amendment rights.https://t.co/xeCNN3gisp
— NPR (@NPR) April 30, 2021
Following Donofrio’s refusal to remove the BLM flag, she was removed from her high school classroom and was “reassigned to non-teaching duties,” NPR reported.
Speaking on the Black Lives Matter Movement and Boston, who died at age 20, Donofrio told NPR, “His life mattered. Period. Walking beside his family, his mom, and seeing what it looks like in real life, there’s no possible way that you can’t stand by the belief that Black lives matter.”
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Last week, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran referred to Donofrio in a speech and claimed that she was “terminated” over the BLM flag controversy, though she’s still employed by the Florida school district, according to News 4 Jax.
Donofrio is currently suing the Duval County School District while being represented by civil rights attorney Cathleen Scott and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Highlighting her client’s free speech rights, Scott told NPR about the lawsuit, “It’s a question of whether or not this is a matter of great public significance, whether or not this speech is protected. Ms. Donofrio was speaking out against racism. And that’s a very important value.”
District officials have not yet informed Donofrio if or when she can return as a teacher. Also no word on when the civil case will play out in court.
