Disney’s “Strange World.” Photo via Disney/Facebook.
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. | A fifth grade elementary teacher is under fire in Hernando County, Florida after showing her students the 2022 film “Strange World.” It’s the first Disney film with an openly gay lead character.
“Strange World” features the openly gay character named Ethan Clade, who has a crush on another male character and is voiced by gay comic Jaboukie Young-White.
Hernando County School Board member Shannon Rodriguez, who was elected to the school board last fall, and was endorsed by conservative anti-LGBTQ+ parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty, reported fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee to the state Department of Education who has opened an investigation.
Rodriguez has a daughter in Barbee’s class.
Common Sense Media, in its Parents’ Guide to “Strange World,” gave it a four out of five star rating. The organization bills itself as “the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.”
Barbee, who teaches at Winding Waters K-8, a public school located in Weeki Wachee, during a public comment session during last week’s Board Meeting told the members and the audience:
“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.”
The Tallahassee Democrat reported Florida educators are prohibited from teaching about gender and sexual identity due to the Parental Rights in Education Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year. Also known as “Don’t Say Gay or Trans,” teachers have expressed anxiety and confusion over the vague wording of the law for fear of losing their teaching licenses or criminal penalties if found in non-compliance.
Opponents of the law say the vague wording unfairly targets books and classroom materials with gay and transgender characters and themes.
Rodriguez, in her short tenure on the school board, has argued there is “smut” and “porn” on schools’ library shelves and has asked for books to be removed, according to Suncoast News.
Barbee said that every student in her class had a signed parent permission slip that said PG movies were allowed. At the end of the school board meeting, Rodriguez said Barbee broke school policy because she did not get the specific movie approved by school administration and said the teacher is “playing the victim,” the Tallahassee Democrat noted.
In a statement to local media outlets, Moms for Liberty says school boards should ensure parents’ rights are honored in the classroom.
“It is great that local school board members can question content that is not approved by parents. Parents have a right to be a part of their child’s education and school boards should also ensure parental rights are honored in the classroom.”
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com
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