A Florida teacher is under investigation by the state Department of Education after she showed her class the Disney animated movie, Strange World, which features an out gay character, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Jenna Barbee, a fifth-grade teacher at Winding Waters school in Hernando county, Florida, alleges that she was referred to the department by Shannon Rodriguez, a parent of one of her students who also sits on the local board.
Barbee, a first year teacher, said she is now being investigated for possible violations of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.
The school District also confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat that it is investigating a fifth-grade teacher after a parent complained that the movie is inappropriate for children.
Strange World involves a group of explorers trying to save their world by going on an adventure to find a mysterious plant that serves as their society’s energy source. Conservatives slammed the movie as “woke” and claimed it is indoctrinating children because one of the film’s main characters is gay and has a crush on another male character, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
“The word indoctrination is thrown around a lot right now, but it seems that those who are using it are using it as a defense tactic for their own fear-based beliefs without understanding the true meaning of the word,” Barbee said at a Hernando County School Board meeting Tuesday.
The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law bans Florida teachers from discussing topics relating to gender and sexual identity in the classroom.
“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 the door for conversations that have no place in our classrooms,” Rodriguez said after Tuesday’s meeting. “As a leader in this community, I’m not going to stand by and allow this minority to infiltrate our schools.”
But, Barbee argued that the movie is relevant to her fifth-grade class Earth science and ecosystems curriculum and did not have sexually inappropriate content. She also said that every student in her class have signed permission slips from their parents saying PG rated films are allowed.
