In June 2026, a rumor circulated online that a Colorado high school teacher was fired following accusations that she forced female students to kiss in class as part of a skit.
Social media users shared screenshots and clips from a purported school board meeting video in which members allegedly voted on the fate of a teacher named Jennifer Honka after a judge purportedly declared she had performed her role with "incompetence and neglect of duty."
Internet users suggested the teacher had forced female students to kiss each other for a classroom skit and others also claimed the teacher in question identified as LGBTQ+.
In short, the claim was true.
The Denver Public Schools Board of Education officially terminated Honka on May 20, 2026. CBS News as well as local media like the Denver Post and Denver Gazette reported on the decision.
The review of the case by administrative law judge Keith J. Kirchubel, embedded as a PDF below, stated on Page 26 that his recommendation was for Honka to be "dismissed on the grounds of incompetence and neglect of duty." Snopes reached out to Euell Thomas of the Colorado Education Association, who represented Honka, for her response to the allegations and will update this article if we receive a response.
No criminal charges have been filed against Honka, as of this writing.
The Denver Public Schools Board of Education finalized the decision on May 20, 2026, when it voted unanimously to terminate Honka.
The vote can be watched in a video of the board meeting Denver Public Schools provided to Snopes. The vote about Honka's termination appeared on the agenda for the meeting and occurred around 1 hour and 39 minutes into the proceedings.
A spokesperson for Denver Public Schools told Snopes via email:
The safety, emotional well-being, and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of Denver Public Schools. All schools must be spaces where students feel safe, respected, and supported.
Following a thorough district investigation and an independent review by a state administrative law judge, the DPS Board of Education voted unanimously to terminate the employment of Jennifer Honka.
We commend the bravery of the students who came forward to report these incidents, as well as the school staff who acted immediately as mandatory reporters. We remain fully committed to upholding the highest standards of professional conduct and ensuring our classrooms remain safe spaces for all.
The review document above detailed the allegations against Honka, including that she had been employed at Northeast Early College,
Honka's accusers claimed she forced female students to participate in skits in which they were to kiss one another and said if the students resisted, Honka would cite the classroom's "the answer is always yes" policy.
According to the review document, Honka claimed students were allowed to "fake kiss" or "fistbump" if they were not comfortable. She also stated she did not recall the "say yes" policy being enacted during a skit and that it was intended as an answer for questions like, "should you put your phone away?" and "are we always respectful?"
In addition, the document confirmed Honka's sexuality and recorded testimony that Honka "readily disclosed details about her personal life to students," including "details related to her sexual orientation, her use of a sperm donor to conceive her son, her history of abuse as a child, and at least one episode of suicidal ideation."
The judge wrote that he saw no evidence of bias in the decision to terminate as it related to Honka's sexual orientation and that the teacher had "failed to demonstrate appropriate personal and professional conduct in the time period covered by the record here. Her choice of skits, her implementation of them, and her repeated disclosure of sensitive and potentially traumatizing information amounted to incompetence and neglect of duty as it was shown to have negative effects on Respondent's students with little or no educational value."