The Massachusetts Teachers Association is calling on public school districts and colleges to take no action against public school teachers who celebrated conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk's death last week.

In a statement released Tuesday, union president Max Page and vice president Deb McCarthy said local officials should “be partners with unions in the fight to defend educators from bullying and harassment and to protect their rights.”

The state’s largest teachers union said “extreme-right conservatives” are trying to “grotesquely exploit” Kirk’s shooting death at Utah Valley University on September 10 “to launch attacks against people commenting on this public figure’s beliefs and statements.”

“Attacks against educators and others have included death threats and the promise of violence,” Page and McCarthy said. “We are insisting that public school administrators or officials not take actions that validate accusations by extremists against educators.”

They added: “The MTA will ensure that its members are treated fairly and will advocate for their safety and the safety of their public schools, colleges and all of our students. District and campus leadership, too, have an obligation to keep everyone safe.”

The union leaders also noted that on the same day Kirk was shot, “two students at a high school in Colorado were shot by a classmate.” They said schools “must play a role in shaping a comprehensive strategy to mitigate this climate of violence.”

The statement comes as several Massachusetts teachers face investigations or disciplinary action for comments about Kirk, as NewBostonPost has reported.

At Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, social studies teacher Evangeline LeBlanc posted on Facebook, “Dear interwebs, Please don’t get me all excited that the POS supreme leader is sick, dead, incapacitated …. I will celebrate like never before.” In another post, she wrote, “Spew hate and face the consequences. We’re a gun toting country. Perhaps that’s the issue. Sorry but I do not feel any sympathy. Revolutions aren’t pretty.”

Her posts drew criticism from Dartmouth resident Chester Tam, who worked on Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in Massachusetts.

“That sort of talk is just dangerous and divisive,” Tam wrote on X (Twitter). “As a teacher who's got real influence over kids' minds, she shouldn't be anywhere near shaping the next generation.”

In Framingham, the city’s public school system placed King Elementary School teacher Samantha Marengo on leave after she posted a video on Instagram smiling and singing “God Bless America” as news of Kirk’s death aired on television.

At Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, freshman English teacher AnneMarie Donahue was placed on administrative leave after writing, “Just a reminder. We’re NOT offering sympathy,” on Instagram.

In Sharon, English teacher Laurie Davis posted on Facebook, “Never one to celebrate but so long you piece of [expletive]! Now I’m just pissed that they are making this [expletive] [expletive] martyr.”

And in Peabody, business teacher and Hamilton-Wenham School Committee member David Polito commented on Facebook, “Nah it’s a smack in the mouth to white boys who think they can run their mouth without consequences.”