Florida's top K-12 education official said he filed a complaint against a Gainesville teacher to get her teaching certificate revoked, a day after an area parent accused the woman of nominating a student "Most Likely to Become a Dictator."Education Commissioner Anastasios "Stasi" Kamoutsas posted the document on social media Aug. 21. He's moving against history teacher Lauren Watts of Gainesville High School.The parent, Crystal Marull, attended a State Board of Education meeting earlier in the week, where she held up an award with her son's name, the nomination and a title reading "Ms. Watts' Class Superlatives 2023."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe was targeted for his "conservative values," added Marull, coordinator of the University of Florida's Online Spanish Program.She said the teacher also allowed students to label her son a "Naziphile." And Kamoutsas' complaint alleged Watts let students "disparage" her son during the 2022–23 school year after classmates suggested that he was a "Hitler sympathizer."The complaint is with Florida's Education Practices Commission, which can suspend or revoke teaching certificates. It says Watts violated multiple rules of professional conduct and said she is "guilty of gross immorality."Kamoutsas also accuses Watts of violating administrative codes, including protecting a student's mental or physical safety, exposing a student to "unnecessary embarrassment," discriminating against a student's political beliefs and failing to take precautions to "distinguish between personal views and those of any educational institutions or organization with which the individual is affiliated.""A teacher chose to designate a student as the 'most likely to become a dictator.' A parent brought this issue to my attention," Kamoutsas wrote on X, with an image of the complaint he filed. "I immediately took action to investigate the issue. I found probable cause and will take every necessary action to ensure this teacher never teaches again."Marull's remarks stemmed from her grievances with the Alachua County School Board, which she believes should have disciplined the teacher.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWatts "had his classmates vote on it and try to force him to the front of the class to receive the ('Most Likely to Become a Dictator' award), which he rightly refused, all because of his conservative values and our perspectives," Marull said.State education meeting: ‘Toxic culture’: Florida school board grilled over MAGA comment falloutWhat happened between her remarks before state education leaders and Kamoutsas' complaint is not known. Earlier on Aug. 21, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote a letter to the Alachua County superintendent and the school board drawing attention to Marull's accusations.A request for comment is pending with Uthmeier's office on whether state officials undertook an investigation into the allegations against Watts, and whether the letter was intended to demand action or to bring awareness. The beginning of the letter implied that the facts were not verified, but later on the letter says the "teacher's certificate must be revoked."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"If these facts bear out – and we have no reason to doubt Dr. Marull's veracity – then this teacher should be immediately terminated, and never allowed to teach again in Florida," Uthmeier wrote.Another request is pending with the Florida Department of Education on whether an investigation is pending or completed, and whether Kamoutsas spoke with Marull, the teacher or the high school. Questions also are pending on how the department completed an investigation so quickly and on something alleged to have happened three years ago.Marull commented on Kamoutsas' post: "Thank you Commissioner for defending our children when the local school boards will not."Watts could not be immediately reached. According to her LinkedIn, her first teaching job was at Alachua County Public Schools and she has been a history teacher since August 2019. Requests for comment are pending with a school board spokesperson, the Alachua County superintendent and the Gainesville High School principal.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe State Board of Education found the Alachua School Board violated First Amendment rights in a separate situation earlier this month. A public commenter was nearly removed from a school board meeting after insulting a board member for her derogatory social media comments about the late pro wrestler and actor Hulk Hogan.This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@gannett.com. On X: @stephanymatat.This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Top Florida official targets teacher over 'dictator' award to student