Florida Elementary School Teacher Under Investigation After Showing Students Disney Movie Featuring Openly Gay Character

A Florida elementary school teacher is under investigation by the state Department of Education after she showed her fifth-grade students a Disney movie featuring an openly gay character.

Jenna Barbee, a teacher at Winding Waters K-8 in Brooksville, said in a viral TikTok video posted Saturday that a parent, who also serves on the local school board, reported her for screening the 2022 title “Strange World” on May 3.

Barbee said she thought the animated movie was “perfect” because her students had been studying earth science and ecosystems and the PG movie is about a family of explorers navigating an alien world.

The movie features a gay character, Ethan Clade, who has a crush on another male character in the movie. Barbee said his sexuality is never brought up in the movie.

Barbee said she was shocked when she received a call from the school’s principal and was told that she was being investigated by the state Department of Education. She said she was told that the movie was “inappropriate” and that she should have asked for parental permission before showing it.

Barbee said she believes that the investigation is an example of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. She said she showed the movie as a “brain break” in between students’ standardized testing and that she had no intention of offending anyone.

The state Department of Education has not yet commented on the investigation.