When a language lesson turns into kids feeling pressured to act out kiss scenes in class, parents on both the right and the left see one more sign that the system has lost its common sense.
Story Snapshot
- A veteran Denver French teacher was fired after students said she made same‑sex peers act out kissing skits in class.
- An administrative law judge found “incompetence and neglect of duty” based on sexualized skits and deeply personal disclosures to students.[1][2]
- The teacher denied forcing kisses and said students could fake it, but the judge said teens still felt pressured.[2]
- The case highlights bigger fights over school boundaries, parental trust, and whether districts police their own fairly.[2][3]
What Exactly Happened In This Denver Classroom?
Denver Public Schools board members voted 7–0 to fire Jennifer Honka, a 50‑year‑old French teacher at Northeast Early College, after an investigation into complaints about her classroom.[2] Students told other staff that during French skits they were asked to kiss classmates, and that these pairs were always the same sex.[2] According to an independent review, some skits, titled “The Neighbors Saw Everything” and “The Boring Kiss,” included several scripted kiss moments between characters who were dating.[2] An administrative law judge later agreed the district had grounds to dismiss her.[1][2]
According to reporting on that decision, the judge found Denver Public Schools had proven “incompetence and neglect of duty” based on both the skits and Honka’s pattern of sharing very sensitive personal stories with students.[1][2] Court documents cited by local outlets say Honka talked in class about her sexual orientation, using a sperm donor to conceive her child, her history of childhood abuse, and even suicidal thoughts.[1][2] The judge wrote that these disclosures were reckless and showed repeated poor judgment that harmed students and had “little or no educational value.”[2]
Did Students Really Have A Choice To Say No?
Honka told investigators and the independent reviewer that she did not force any student to kiss.[2] She said teens could blow a kiss, bump fists, or pretend, and one student did tell the reviewer that pretending to kiss was allowed.[2] But the judge drew a sharper line. In his written decision, he said that “regardless of whether [she] ‘forced’ the participants to kiss,” her scripts still pushed kids to talk about their sexual comfort and consent in front of classmates during a “very personal and sexualized activity.”[1][2] That power imbalance, he argued, made students feel pressured, not truly free to opt out.[1][2]
The independent review also noted a classroom rule Honka allegedly posted: “the answer is always ‘yes.’”[2] One student said Honka used that phrase to nudge them into joining skits that affected their grades.[2] For many parents, that hits a nerve. At a time when adults on both sides of politics are begging schools to teach teens that “no means no,” a rule that “the answer is always yes” inside a sexualized role‑play feels upside down. Even without criminal charges, families see a system that struggled to protect kids until students themselves complained loudly.[2]
How The System Responded — And Why People Still Do Not Trust It
After students spoke up during the 2023–24 school year, the principal gathered statements, filed a report with Denver police, and the district launched its own inquiry.[2][3] Police did not bring criminal charges, but Denver Public Schools recommended termination, and state law triggered a hearing before an administrative law judge.[2][3] That judge, Robert Kirchubel, backed the firing, and the Denver school board then voted unanimously to dismiss Honka without public debate.[1][2][7] On paper, this looks like the system working: complaint, investigation, hearing, then action.
But many citizens, including conservatives and liberals, do not trust Denver Public Schools to police itself. Denver media has previously questioned whether the district relies too much on internal reviews when serious misconduct is alleged.[3] Some parents and teachers say boards often rubber‑stamp staff recommendations behind closed doors, with little sunlight on evidence or precedent.[3] Others worry that if a teacher crosses an invisible cultural line, the district acts to protect its own reputation first and talks to parents later. That feeds a wider sense that education bureaucracies answer more to lawyers and public relations teams than to families.
Culture War Flashpoint Or Basic Classroom Boundaries?
Online, the case has been framed as “lesbian teacher forces girls to kiss,” language that zeroes in on Honka’s identity rather than the judge’s actual findings.[2][5] The decision itself is more narrow. It says using skits to teach a foreign language can be effective, but the particular scripts and how they were run were “irresponsible and inappropriate.”[1][2][5] It also notes that complaining students did mention her status as lesbian and active in gay and transgender support, but not in ways that clearly showed bias.[1][2] That nuance is easy to lose in viral headlines.
**Here's what happened, based on the investigation, admin law judge findings & board records:**
Denver Public Schools French teacher **Jennifer Honka** (Northeast Early College) was unanimously dismissed by the board (7-0) on May 20, 2026 after an administrative law judge…
— Grok (@grok) June 16, 2026
For many parents on the right, this story fits a pattern: schools bring sexual topics into class, blur lines between education and activism, and then only act when caught.[2][5] For many on the left, it shows something else: a system quick to sacrifice one teacher, but slow to fix deeper problems like crowded classrooms, weak mental health support, and confusing discipline rules. Research on teacher‑student conflict shows that when boundaries break down, student learning and mental health suffer. That shared concern, more than any culture war label, may be the real lesson here.
Sources:
[1] Web – Lesbian teacher fired for making female students kiss each other in …
[2] Web – Denver teacher fired after ‘same-gender’ kissing skits in French class
[3] Web – Denver Public Schools changes discipline policy as details released …
[5] Web – Denver high school teacher fired, accused of asking students to kiss
[7] YouTube – Denver school board discusses board member investigation