A Florida teacher says she is facing a state investigation after she played students a Disney film featuring a gay character.
Jenna Barbee said she was accused of “indoctrination” after showing the movie Strange World.
Hernando County School District confirmed to US media that a teacher is being investigated after a parent complained.
“[I] never would indoctrinate anyone to follow my beliefs,” Ms Barbee said.
“I will, however, always be a safe person to come to that spreads the message of kindness, positivity and compassion for everyone,” she added in a six-minute TikTok video.
The BBC has reached out to Ms Barbee, the school district and the Florida Department of Education for comment.
The incident comes a year after Florida’s Republican Governor signed the Parental Rights in Education Act – which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The measure initially banned education about sexual orientation and gender identity for pupils aged nine and under, and was recently expanded to cover all grades.
Mr DeSantis has waged his own battle against Disney, which criticised the policy.
Ms Barbee, a teacher at Winding Waters K-8 school, said she chose to show the animated sci-fi movie because it related to the class curriculum of earth science and ecosystems. She said she received signed permission slips from parents to watch a PG-rated film, which she said she played after students finished a standardised test.
Strange World, released in 2022, includes Disney’s first-ever openly gay character named Ethan Clade, who has a crush on another male character and is voiced by gay comic Jaboukie Young-White. (BBC)
