Oct 19, 2025 minute read

The Issaquah School District has reinstated Issaquah High School Spanish teacher Kelsey Early, who was placed on leave earlier this year after posting a TikTok video in which she sang “F*ck ICE and F*ck Trump, Free Palestine” to the tune of the National Anthem and bragged she wanted to make similar changes to the Pledge of Allegiance in her classroom.

In a statement provided exclusively to The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, the district confirmed Early’s return: “The Issaquah School District has completed its review of a staff matter at Issaquah High School. Following this process, the teacher returned to the classroom on Oct. 17, 2025. The district and school community recognize this has been a challenging situation and remain focused on maintaining a safe, supportive learning environment where instruction stays purposeful, productive, and positive for all students.”

Early’s reinstatement follows a brief non-disciplinary leave while the district investigated the incident.

The district previously told Hoffman, “While we respect employees’ First Amendment rights, and acknowledge the employee’s cooperation, state law and district regulations require that staff expression not interfere with the orderly operation of schools or students’ education. As a result, the district is placing the employee on non-disciplinary leave pending the outcome of an investigation. District leaders will remind staff of the regulations and laws governing expression in our schools.”

Parents in Issaquah, which has one of the largest Israeli and Jewish populations in Western Washington, expressed frustration that the district allowed Early to return. Critics argue the reinstatement sends the wrong message to students and staff about political neutrality and professionalism in classrooms.

The Issaquah School District has been at the center of repeated debates over anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Community members have accused the district of tolerating bias and failing to address inflammatory speech by educators.

Earlier this month, anti-Israel student groups organized walkouts at Seattle-area schools and colleges on October 7 to celebrate what they call the “great achievement” of the Hamas-led massacre in Israel, after the Trump administration’s ceasefire and peace deal was announced.

Far-left accounts like “Issaquah Student League” and “WA Walkout for Palestine” marketed the event with flyers calling on students to leave class to mark the second anniversary of Hamas’ terror attack. Their demands include abolishing Israel in favor of “one state from the river to the sea,” cutting off US aid, and freeing convicted Palestinian terrorists.

The flyers describe the Oct. 7 atrocities, where more than 1,200 people were murdered, 250 kidnapped, and thousands injured, as “heroic Palestinian resistance” and “one of the most important events of our lifetime.”

Issaquah High School principal Erin Connolly emailed parents acknowledging the planned walkout, stressing that students who leave class will receive unexcused absences and that harassment, bullying, or vandalism won’t be tolerated.

Some of the protest posters were illegally glued to school property and had to be removed.

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