5th Grade FL Teacher Investigated for Showing Movie With LGBTQ+ Themes
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Florida Department of Education is investigating fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee after she showed a Disney film to her class called "Strange World," which features a gay character who has a crush on another man.
Key Details: Barbee, who teaches in Hernando County, Florida, posted about the controversy on Tiktok. She claimed she had signed permission slips from parents to show movies that are rated PG; school district policy states that movies must get approval from school leadership first.
Key Quotes: “I just found out today that they increased it {the ban on instruction about certain LGBTQ topics} to my level,” said fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee. School board member Shannon Rodriguez said, "It is not a teacher’s job to impose their beliefs upon a child: religious, sexual orientation, gender identity, any of the above...Ms. Barbee chose to show a PG movie without approval."
For Context: In late March, the same school district allegedly failed to inform parents after a transgender teacher threatened to shoot up her classroom.
How the Media Covered it: Sources across the political spectrum covered the news, with left-rated sources covering it more and often framing it as unjust government censorship. Some right-rated sources framed the teacher's decision to show the movie as questionable.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Florida teacher under investigation for showing Disney movie with gay character says she didn’t know LGBTQ restriction applied to her class
A Florida teacher under a state investigation 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.
Florida bans teaching of gender identity and...
From the Right
Teacher Who Showed LGBT-Themed Disney Film In Classroom Accuses Concerned Parents Of Not Loving Their Children
A teacher under investigation for showing a movie with LGBT themes to 10-year-olds said at a school board meeting that concerned parents may not love their children.
Teacher Jenna Barbee of the Hernando County, Florida School District is under investigation by the Florida Department of Education after showing “Strange World,” which features a gay character who has a crush on another man, in her classroom.
The teacher posted about the controversy on TikTok, accusing critics of trying to “get rid of every form of representation out of our schools.” Barbee said that she...
From the Center
Florida teacher probed after showing students Disney movie
A fifth-grade teacher in Florida is currently under investigation after she showed a Disney movie that featured a gay character in class.
Jenna Barbee, who teaches at Winding Waters K-8 in Brooksville, says she originally thought the movie, “Strange World,” was appropriate for students to watch since it is rated PG. Despite the rating, school district policy states all movies must first get approval from school leadership before they can be viewed by students.
“I was showing a movie to my students about Earth because that’s our current lessons in science,” Barbee said.
Disney’s...
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