A Florida teacher is under state investigation for showing a Disney movie with a gay character to her class.
By: Elizabeth Wolfe (CNN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Florida teacher under a stateinvestigation for showing a Disney movie featuring a gay character said she wasn't aware the state's controversial law banning instruction about certain LGBTQ topics had been recently expanded to apply to her grade level.
The legislation was first passed in March 2022 and initially applied to kindergarten through third grade. Last month, Florida's state education board voted to expand the law's scope to include all grades through high school. Teachers who violate the state policy can be suspended or have their teaching licenses revoked.
"I just found out today that they increased it to my level," the fifth-grade teacher, Jenna Barbee told CNN's Alisyn Camerota Monday night. "I had no idea whatsoever that this was such a big deal."
Barbee says she played the 2022 animated Disney movie "Strange World" to a classroom of fifth graders while their peers were finishing some standardized testing.
The Disney film tells the story of a family of explorers and features a gay character.
Though Barbee says the students' parents had previously signed permission slips allowing their children to watch PG-rated movies, one parent complained and reported the teacher to the state Department of Education after "Strange World" was shown.
The parent who reported her, who is also a member of the Hernando County School District Board, complained to the principal that the movie is not appropriate for students, according to Karen Jordan, spokesperson for Hernando County Schools.
The parent, school board member Shannon Rodriguez, has said that Barbee should have gotten the specific movie approved by school administration and said the teacher is "playing the victim."
"It is not a teacher's job to impose their beliefs upon a child: religious, sexual orientation, gender identity, any of the above. But allowing movies such as this assist teachers in opening a door, and please hear me, they assist teachers in opening a door for conversations that have no place in our classrooms," Rodriguez said at a May 9 school board meeting.
But Barbee told CNN her students are already discussing such topics on their own.
"These students are talking about things way beyond this (movie)," Barbee said. "This door that she's talking about, it's been open. These are common conversations that I have to tell my students, 'Woah there. We're getting a little too much here.'"
Jenna Barbee addressed the issue at a Hernando County school board meeting last week. courtesy Hernando School District
The teacher has also pushed back on Rodriguez's insistence that the individual movie needed to be approved, telling CNN in an earlier interview that there was no protocol in place for clearing specific movies. Rodriguez's daughter had a signed form approving the showing of PG movies, Barbee said.
Barbee said she had already submitted her resignation from the school the week before the incident occurred due to "politics and the fear of not being able to be who you are" in the public school system.
When DeSantis signed the ban into law last year, he and other Florida Republicans touted it as a protection of parents' rights, while opponents slammed it as yet another effort by GOP lawmakers in the state to erase and oppress LGBTQ people in schools, calling it the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
Disney was among those who spoke out against the legislation last year, unleashing backlash from DeSantis and Florida Republicans who moved to target the entertainment company's control over the land in and around its theme parks.
'I was never trying to indoctrinate my students'
Barbee said she played the movie as part of a unit on Earth sciences and ecosystems and explained that the investigation has only made her students more curious about why the film is being treated as controversial.
"All of my students are asking, 'Why is that so wrong? Why is it inappropriate? Why are you in so much trouble because of this little part of the movie?' And I have to just keep saying, 'No, go ask your parents about it.'"
"I was never trying to indoctrinate my students by showing them something that had differences and diversity," Barbee said. "I was showing them a movie that related to our curriculum and our Earth, that also taught many valuable life lessons that also correlate to our Florida best standards."
Barbee also addressed the school board during the public comment period of its May 9 meeting, telling them that the movie's content was not sexual and was relevant to her lesson on ecosystems and the environment. She also pointed out what she believed to be contradictions in Rodriguez's comments.
"A school board member, an elected official of power, who was supposed to be nonpartisan, is allowed to present to the public that she is Christian and that God appointed her to the board. And yet it is indoctrination that I showed a Disney movie," said Barbee.
Rodriguez responded, "as a leader in this community, I'm not going to stand by and allow this minority to infiltrate our schools … God did put me here."
Florida Department of Education press secretary Cassie Palelis said the complaint will be reviewed by an investigator, and an attorney will then provide a recommendation to the commissioner for next steps.
"I understand that the individual in question has discussed her case publicly. However, we will not allow politics and media pressure to dictate our process," Palelis said.
CNN has reached out to Rodriguez and the Hernando County School District for comment.
CNN's Melissa Alonso, Isabel Rosales and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.
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The real cancel culture.
An elderly doctor once told my father that the only reason that we're not the ones locked up in insane asylums is because we're the majority. My respect for him has grown because I've come to realize that what he said is becoming more and more valid.
Meh, wouldn’t bother me because of the gay character but I question the teachers judgement using a Disney movie when so many other much better options are available. Planet earth, blue planet, our planet, Jane, etc, etc ....
Makes one wonder if she is telling the truth.
Exactly.
I will tell you why, because kids are FAR more entertained by Disney shit than by documentaries.
By all means. Let’s entertain and indoctrinate. Not educate. Meanwhile kids get dumber and dumber but at least they are entertained.
Right?
Its hard to escape the feeling that the movie is looked down upon by some in Florida because it features a gay character , a teenage boy, who is not a cast out , but rather is accepted.
It is looked down upon because it sucked.
She should be fired for torturing her kids; not because the movie had a gay lead character.
The movie was not a box office success, but according to wikipedia it was the most watched show on Disney + for a number of weeks late '22 and early '23.
Personally, based on the article I think Barbee knew exactly what she was doing.
She got signed permission slips from the parents except for one who reported her.
Sounds like bad parenting. Maybe CPS should look into that, make sure there is no gay shit going on in that home.
Does that mean the parents knew the contents of the movie?
I don't know if they knew about the contents but I'm sure they knew it was a Disney film and didn't think there was anything nefarious.
Good grief ! This whole thing is ridiculous.
They either did and let their kid watch it just so they could bitch which makes them assholes, or they didn't and either did not know their kids were gonna be watching it, or didn't do their due dilligence as parents and watch it first, which makes them bad parents.
For those keeping score, losses which help businesses avoid paying taxes
at tax time. Many say Hollywood accountants are the best at making profits disappear to avoid the tax man.
Disney earns about $82Billion annually Who cares about 303Million?
Is Hollywood a blue industry?
What is a blue industry?
Only to view a PG-13 movie- not that particular movie.
You are almost too damn funny. Disney has lost far more money than just that one film- in case you haven't noticed.
Which is the reason they changed who was running the company.
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
In spite of the pandemic and related closures of their theme parks and movie studios, Chapek wasn't bounced until after the 4th quarter report in 2022. It's not wise to upset Wall Street but immaterial to his departure.
Sorry, that's just not true.
Chapek got caught up in not being able to do enough for either side. It had nothing to do with profits.
Thanks for contributing.
"It is not a teacher's job to impose their beliefs upon a child: religious, sexual orientation, gender identity, any of the above."
When the whole emphasis is on the character being gay, it's unacceptable
Ethan Alter on Twitter: "Here's #StrangeWorld breakout star, Jaboukie Young-White on why he's proud to be breaking new ground as the first out gay teenager in a Disney animated film. https://t.co/vlmv7ebP8s" / Twitter
Why do I think you have no idea whether that is the "whole emphasis" ?
Why in the all inclusive hell do you think she chose to show that movie. Cuz of the neato mosquito animation?
What does a gay character have to do with Earth sciences and ecosystems?
Are you claiming that there are no gay people involved in Earth sciences and ecosystems?
Who the fuck knows and who the fuck cares?
Have you watched it? Do you haver any idea what it is even about? I sure as shit haven't and don't, but unless it is set in a Miami club loaded with catholic priests I cannot imagine "the gay" is anything more than a gay char existing.
All movies displaying heterosexual behavior must be banned.
Fuck it, just ban teaching in general, no more education. America can then rise to the level of Somalia.
I guess that in Florida you're either pro-deSantis or pro Disney - cause never the twain shall meet.
That is what the propagandists would like you to believe.
War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength ....
My comment has nothing to do with propagandists. Your comment invoking 1984 is irrelevant but could well be propaganda as to the issue itself.
Have you even read the book?
I didn’t say it did.
It’s completely relevant in context to comment made. Either pro Desantis or pro Disney? That’s it?
Ridiculous!
Clearly more than you have.
Rodriguez says this:
And then goes on to say this:
So it's ok for Rodriguez to enforce her views but gawd forbid the teacher shows a movie with a gay character.
It seems to be but remember Rodriguez is the moral judge of all that happens in her area. No qualifications but she believes in cancel culture. So that makes everything fine.
It’s too late. Statistically some of this kids will turn out gay, and it will obviously be because of this movie.
Lol .... hopefully their understanding of earth sciences isn’t based on Disney movies.
You can be certain that Rodriguez's understanding of earth sciences begins and ends with: the Earth was created in 7 days, the universe is 5,000 years old, dinosaurs and men lived together.
Florida, right? Didn't the Nazis have pink stars for certain folk?
Actually it was a triangle.
This is what happens when you let parents have a say in what is taught in schools. The David is now porn, some random ass DIsney movie is a no go because there is a gay person in it.
Since they wanna ban sexualizing children, I oppose any film, photo, painting, work of art etc. that has even a hint of sexuality being shown to any child in Florida. Hell, parents should be arrested as child molesters if their kids EVER see their genetals. If we are gonna be stupid then let's go all the way stupid.
Fuck it, the human body is banned.
An animated cartoon to boot. I am a bit older than you but the cartoons of my day were filled with adult jokes, double meanings and a lot of winking at the "camera".
Come on already, the Loony tunes were slapstick violence for a laugh.
The Three Stooges?
OMG, Mickey Mouse is gay, quick someone tell Minnie.
Was he f#*king Goofy ?
No Minnie was fucking Goofy. That's why he filed for divorce. He found out she was fucking Goofy
Goofy could be bi
OMG, this is Florida, DeSantis will ban Goofy from our state.
We just won't tell anybody