A Duval County teacher who hung a Black Lives Matter flag in her classroom says she heard she was fired via a YouTube video.

Amy Donofrio’s legal team released a statement on Monday criticizing a recent guest speech engagement Florida Department of Education commissioner Richard Corcoran of Hillsdale College, a private conservative school in Michigan. Corcoran used Donofrio as an example while Speaking about Critical Race Theory and Program Oversight and announced that he had fired her.

In March, the school district announced that Donofrio would be deleted of his class while the Duval schools investigated “several allegations”. The district declined to say what these allegations are, citing the ongoing investigation. In April, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced that it was to pursue Duval schools on behalf of Donofrio.

“I’m being sued right now in Duval County, which is in Jacksonville because there was an entire classroom commemorated in Black Lives Matter,” Corcoran said during his presentation. “We made sure that she was fired and now we are being sued by every one of the liberal left groups who say it is a matter of free speech.”

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Duval County Public Schools told The Times-Union on Monday morning that Donofrio was still an active employee of the school district.

“The employee is assigned to paid, non-educational duties,” said a spokesperson.

Public records show that Donofrio’s teaching certificate is still active and that she has not been the subject of any disciplinary action by the State Department of Education to date.

A spokeswoman for the Southern Poverty Law Center said that now that Corcoran’s statement about Donofrio was open, they needed answers.

Ms. Donofrio was devastated to learn of Commissioner Corcoran’s public statements of the decision to terminate her employment even though Duval County Public Schools still refuse to provide Ms. Donofrio with details of the ‘alleged misconduct’ for which she was told she was under investigation, “said an SPLC statement.

“The fact that this decision was made by people at the highest levels of the Florida Department of Education even before the DCPS investigation was completed shows the depth of the retaliation and deprivation of due process and justice. freedom of speech on which Ms Donofrio’s lawsuit against the district is based. According to Corcoran, a classroom that teaches Black Lives Matter or what Corcoran called “crazy liberal stuff” justifies censorship and dismissal of teachers . “

The Times-Union has contacted the Florida Department of Education and Corcoran’s office for comment.

In a separate statement, Donofrio called hearing Corcoran’s latest statement heartbreaking.

“Even though my heart is broken that the reprisals against me continue, I will not stop fighting for my rights so that other teachers do not have to face the reprisals, harassment and humiliation that I ‘ve as a result of the joint creation of a safe learning environment. with and for black students, ”she says.

Emily Bloch is an education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or Send him an email.