A fifth grade teacher in Florida is being investigated by the Florida Department of Education after showing her students the Disney film “Strange World,” a 2022 animated film with a character who is biracial and gay.
Jenna Barbee, the teacher under investigation, works at Hernando County’s Winding Waters K-8 school. The teacher told her story in a very popular TikTok post this past weekend.
“I am the teacher that’s under investigation with the Florida Department of Education for indoctrination for showing a Disney movie,” she said.
In the video, Barber explains she only showed a movie during class because it was only partially full after a day of standardized tests. Additionally, she had also had each of her student’s parents sign a permission slip that allows them to watch a movie rated PG.
However, following the screening of the film, Barbee says a parent complained and reported her to the state Department of Education.
According to Karen Jordan, spokesperson for Hernando County Schools, the parent who reported Barbee is a member of the school board district, as shared in a statement provided to CNN, which was also an announcement to parents in the school board district.
“Yesterday, the Disney movie ‘Strange World’ was shown in your child’s classroom,” the school district said. “While not the main plot of the movie, parts of the story involves a male character having and expressing feelings for another male character. In the future, this movie will not be shown. The school administration and the district’s Professional Standards Dept is currently reviewing the matter to see if further corrective action is required.”
For those not aware, Florida bans teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation through 12th grade.
The animated film “Strange World,” released last year, told the story of a family of explorers and starred the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu. The movie also featured Disney’s first-ever out-gay character, voiced by comedian Jaboukie Young-White.
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