Florida Teacher Under Investigation for Showing a Movie with a Gay Character to Her Classroom
A Florida teacher is under a state investigation by the Florida Department of Education after showing the movie Strange World to her fifth-grade class, which contains a gay character.
Jenna Barbee is a teacher at Hernando County’s Winding Waters K-8 school, and in the last few weeks, has since gained a lot of media attention for her “crime” of allowing her class to watch a movie containing a gay character.
After a morning of standardized testing, Barbee allowed her fifth-grade students to watch the movie Strange World, which is a movie about a family of explorers with many adventurous themes, and it just so happens there is a gay character in it.
A concerned Karen…I mean parent…Shannon Rodriguez was mortified that the movie Strange World was shown in her child’s class and reported Barbee to the Florida Department of Education.
On the heels of Florida Governor Ron Desantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the Florida DOE accepted this complaint and has launched an official investigation into Barbee’s actions.
“Don’t Say Gay” Bill
On July 1, 2022, Governor Desantis’ HB1557 bill, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, took effect in full swing.
This bill, in all its hatred of the LGBTQ community, states the following:
“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Barbee had naturally assumed that she would be protected as her fifth-grade classroom would not fall under this bill.
However, just last month, in April 2023, Florida’s state education board voted in to ban all teachings of gender identity or sexual orientation in all class levels from kindergarten up through high school.
Barbee contends in her video that Desantis is “Getting rid of all diversity elements out of schools completely…they are trying to strip individuality and diversity to fit one common agenda.”
The agenda where the LGBTQ community is not recognized and publicly condemned for any discussion of it or anyone’s lifestyle.
Complaint Against Florida Teacher
At a May 9th, 2023, school board meeting, Rodriguez, full of righteous indignation, stood up and said,
“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 immediately made the teacher, Barbee, out to be someone who had purposefully shown the movie simply because there was a gay character in it.
In a 6-minute-long TikTok video, which has since gone viral, Barbee explained that she chose that movie because the scientific themes in the film about earth, science, ecosystems, plants, humans, animals, etc., all fit into the curriculum she had been teaching the class. It had nothing to do with there being a gay character in the movie.
Barbee had to come to her own defense, as it seemed no one else would, and provided proof that she had gotten the required permission slips with signatures from the parents at the beginning of the school year to show PG-rated movies.
She went on further to say that there was no protocol in place for approval of specific PG-rated movies. So, as the teacher of that class, she chose a movie whose themes fit into her curriculum.
The Investigation Process
It was reported that the Florida Department of Education’s press secretary Cassie Palelis stated, “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.”
This statement has done little to assuage any fears Barbee or the LGBTQ community has, as the bias is evident at every turn.
Interestingly enough, Rodriguez is not only at the forefront of this complaint against the teacher, but she is also a member of the Hernando County School District Board. This, of course, brings the most critical question to light, will this board be able to be fair and impartial?
Once the investigation by the Florida Department of Education is over, they will have their attorney provide a recommendation to the commissioner for what steps may need to be taken against Barbee.
On the heels of this investigation in full swing, the state now wants to interview her students over the state's objection to any kind of teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity, all stemming from a movie being shown with a gay character.
Barbee asserted, “None of my students cared or batted an eye. They didn’t even know this was a big deal until the board member and the state made it a big deal.”
Three Ways We Can Help
While we may not be able to change the fact there is an investigation into Barbee, we can do our part to defend her, support our teachers, and take part in discussions that come up surrounding any mention of the LGBTQ community in our schools.
What are three practical ways that we can help?
1. Sign the petition - there is currently an online petition set up to have Shannon Rodriguez, the source of this investigation, removed from her seat on the Hernando County School District Board.
2. Show up to school board meetings - when there is a school board meeting, show up and be engaged in the topics that are discussed there! Let your voice be heard.
3. Ask your kid's teachers how you can help - I think we’d all be surprised at the answers we would get if we merely listened to the actual teachers in our kid’s classrooms.
Jenna Barbee isn’t just a headline that will fade away in a few weeks. She is a real human being, and her livelihood and reputation are being threatened. Let’s do our part and share this story and help in the ways that we can.