School Board Concludes 'Don't Say Gay' Investigation of First Year Teacher
A Florida School Board has wrapped up its probe into claims that a teacher violated the state's "Don't Say Gay" law by showing a Disney film with a gay character — but another investigation is ongoing, CNN reported
A report by the Hernando County School Board declared that the "investigation was completed regarding the parent complaint," CNN relayed.
The teacher, Jenna Barbee, had received the report and made it available to the news outlet. The report added: "You had the PG(-rated movies) approval forms for all of the students and had connected the movie to the curriculum being taught," CNN detailed.
However, the report said that was not enough, advising Barbee that "you must seek and receive administrative approval before showing a film or video."
The ordeal is not yet over, however; though the school board's probe is complete, according to Barbee "the Florida Department of Education's inappropriate conduct investigation is ongoing," CNN noted.
As previously reported, Barbee took to social media earlier this month to say she was being investigated for alleged "indoctrination" for showing her fifth-grade students the Disney movie "Strange World." Barbee cited the movie's ecological themes, but one student's mother — a member of the school board — zeroed in on the fact that the movie included an openly gay, biracial character.
That school board member, Shannon Rodriguez, characterized the movie being shown to the class as a matter of the teacher "imposing" an agenda and suggested that film being shown was an attempt by the LGBTQ+ "minority to infiltrate our schools".
"Barbee said Rodriguez — an apparent member of the rightwing group Moms for Liberty — has plotted a 'rampage to get rid of every form of representation out of our schools' as a school board member," the New York Post reported at the time.
Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law forbids classroom acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ people and issues affecting them. Teachers who violate the law can face severe penalties, including the revocation of their licenses; the law also encourages parents to sue.
The original version of the law criminalized discussion in the classroom around sexual orientation and gender identity up through third grade. The Florida legislature expanded the law earlier this year to cover all grades up through senior year of high school.
Barbee said that not only was she not attempting to "indoctrinate" anyone, she hadn't even known that the law had been expanded.
"I just found out today that they increased it to my level," CNN quoted the teacher as telling one of its correspondents, Alisyn Camerota, last week.
Added Barbee: "I had no idea whatsoever that this was such a big deal."
Barbee won't be back in the school district's classrooms next year; she "told CNN she had already submitted her resignation a week before the incident due to 'politics and the fear of not being able to be who you are' in the public school system," CNN reported.
A petition started by a different teacher seeks the ouster of Rodriguez, CNN detailed. A Change.org petition set up by Shelby Waymire seeks the resignation or removal of Rodriguez from the school board, and has already garnered more than 16,000 signatures. If she does not depart voluntarily, the petition calls for Gov. Ron DeSantis — a 2024 presidential hopeful and champion of the state's anti-LGBTQ+ laws — to remove her "while there are still teachers left in Hernando County."
Waymire plans to present the petition at the next school board meeting, scheduled for the end of the month — a meeting where there are plans for enhanced security, including metal detectors and the searching of bags, CNN noted.