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Around the country, there is a massive teacher shortage. Classrooms are going unfilled or being manned by personnel that is not qualified to teach that particular subject. That situation in the Hernando County School District in Florida just worsened.
Hernando County School District came to national attention two weeks ago when the Florida State Department of Education informed fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee that she was under investigation for breaking Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Her alleged crime was showing her students the Disney film Strange World (2022), which has an openly gay character.
Credit: Disney
The parent complaint allegedly came from school board member Shannon Rodriguez, whose child is in Barbee’s class. Rodriguez was elected to the Board last fall with the support of the Moms for Liberty. She has argued that “smut” and “porn” are on the school’s library shelves.
A petition to remove Rodriguez has received nearly 24,000 signatures on Change.org. And just hours before the meeting, three Hernando County legislators called for the resignation of Superintendent of Schools John Stratton.
More than 100 community members spoke out during the public portion of the meeting. The vast majority spoke in favor of Barbee and voiced their concern over the many educators leaving the district, including Barbee, who recently resigned.
Lisa Masserio, president of the Hernando Classroom teachers association, told USA Today the district had 33 resignations this month over “what they’ve experienced this year.” The community currently has 150 unfilled instructional positions, and another 50 teachers will resign.
Credit: Disney
One high school student who spoke told the Board:
You need to listen to us when we say that the rainbow in our classroom is not indoctrinating us, seeing two girls together in a Disney movies is not brainwashing us, and your policies are not protecting us from anything.
This started last month when Barbee showed her fifth-grade students Disney’s Strange World after they finished statewide testing. The movie is rated PG, and she had permission slips from every parent in the class to show Disney and Dreamworks films.
Hernando County School District Board Meeting. Credit: KION
Under the Parental Choice in Education law passed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, any parent may file a complaint about any material in the classroom they deem inappropriate.
After an investigation, the Hernando Country School Board deemed that Barbee had acted appropriately. The Florida Department of Education investigation is still pending.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
