SOURCE: Wire
A Colorado French teacher is out of a job after what sounds like a bizarre classroom “theater exercise” morphed into a controversy that has parents and officials asking how things ever got this far in the first place.
The board at Denver Public Schools voted unanimously 7–0 to terminate educator Jennifer Honka following allegations that students were pushed into kissing classmates during graded skits at Northeast Early College, a decision that came after an outside review and months of complaints.
According to reporting from CBS News, an independent investigation concluded Honka was guilty of “incompetence and neglect of duty,” with findings that she allegedly steered students into kissing scenarios during classroom performances.
One particularly uncomfortable detail? The review reportedly found that the students chosen for these kissing skits were consistently the same sex, despite a roughly even gender split in the classroom.
OMG
Denver Public Schools Board just voted UNANIMOUSLY to DISMISS lgbtq teacher Jennifer Honka after she reportedly made female students kiss each other and graded them on it
What is going on in these schools?! pic.twitter.com/UjzgTK0HAQ
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 16, 2026
One student told another teacher she was “very uncomfortable” and felt cornered into participating because the activity was tied to grades. She ultimately went along with it, later circulating a meme among classmates that read, bluntly, “she makes girls kiss.” Not exactly the kind of classroom reputation any educator wants trending among teenagers.
Other accounts paint a similarly awkward picture. Students reportedly described being assigned kissing roles in skits like “The Neighbors Saw Everything” and “The Boring Kiss.” One student said she was asked to kiss multiple classmates in a single assignment and later refused to participate again after receiving a zero.
Another teacher at the school reportedly said students came forward visibly upset, with at least one describing being directed to kiss multiple peers during the activity.
Even more eyebrow-raising, students allegedly described a classroom culture where “the answer is always yes,” which critics say blurred the line between participation and pressure—especially when grades were on the line.
Honka reportedly disclosed personal information to students, including struggles with fertility, mental health, and past trauma. Supporters of strict classroom boundaries argue that kind of personal sharing only further muddies the authority line between teacher and teenager, especially in a performance-based setting.
Honka has denied forcing anyone to kiss, saying students were offered alternatives like blowing a kiss or using a fist bump instead. One student, according to the review, even acknowledged she was allowed to “pretend to kiss.”
Still, the administrative review didn’t let the situation off the hook. Colorado administrative law judge Keith J. Kirchubel wrote that even if no one was physically forced, the setup itself placed students in an inappropriate bind. As he put it, the exercise effectively forced students to make immediate, public decisions about a “very personal and sexualized activity” under teacher authority and peer pressure.
He added that while skits can be a useful language-learning tool, this particular implementation crossed into irresponsible territory. Principal Jennifer Warren reportedly filed a police report after additional concerns surfaced, escalating what had already become a district-level headache.
For its part, Denver Public Schools says student safety is paramount. A district spokesperson told Fox News that schools must be “safe, respected, and supported” environments and emphasized that Honka’s actions “did not protect the best interests of the children in her classroom.”
Despite the termination, reports indicate Honka’s name has still appeared listed in another teaching role within the district system, raising fresh questions about oversight and internal tracking after disciplinary action.
