A Florida teacher is being investigated by the state after showing a Disney movie to her class of fifth graders. It’s the latest incident of The Sunshine State dictating what educators are allowed to teach in the classroom.
Jenna Barbee spoke about her experience at Winding Waters K-8 school in a TikTok video over the 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 her post, seen below. The film in question was 2022’s Strange World. It caused a stir after parent Shannon Rodriguez — who also happens to be a member of the Hernando County School Board — reported her to the state Department of Education for violating the Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The district took issue with the fact that one of the people in the animated film was Disney’s first-ever out gay character. The Mickey Mouse company has been a particular nuisance for Gov. Ron DeSantis as he’s been embroiled in a legal battle with the entertainment giant over its constitutional and property rights in the state.
@becomingabetterbarbee I am the teacher. Here is the truth. #indoctrination #disneymovie #disney #strangeworld #viraltweet
“Yesterday, the Disney movie Strange World was shown in your child’s classroom,” the school district said in a statement to parents, according to CNN today (May 15). “While not the main plot of the movie, parts of the story involve a male character having and expressing feelings for another male character.”
Rodriguez felt that Barbee had ulterior motives. “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… for conversations that have no place in our classrooms,” the board member said. “As a leader in this community, I’m not going to stand by.”
The first-year teacher noted that this wave of censoring education in Florida is a new phenomenon that has stunned even veteran educators. “I work with teachers who have taught for 20 years, 30 years, tell me every day it never used to be like this,” she told USA Today yesterday (May 14). “Times have changed so much and they are so micromanaged, they’re not allowed to teach anymore. They’re basically a caregiver who has to teach the standards. Teachers stay for the children, but because of the laws and the fear of being let go for saying one wrong thing, they can’t connect to their students.”