Denver Public Schools fires teacher accused of making female students kiss during class skits

Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post on Jun 17, 2026

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DENVER — Denver Public Schools fired a teacher accused of making female students kiss each other in class and of exhibiting other inappropriate behavior, including sharing what a judge referred to as “sensitive and potentially traumatizing information” in class.

The district ended Jennifer Honka’s employment at Northeast Early College last month after an outside review found sufficient evidence to terminate the former French teacher for cause.

Honka, who taught at the school for eight years, faced numerous allegations from students and staff at the high school, including that she had students participate in skits that frequently called for the teenagers to kiss one another, according to an order issued by an administrative law judge who conducted the review.

A student told investigators that Honka “always picked girls to act in the skits,” then “convinced” them to kiss each other, according to the review.

The skits forced students “to express their preferences and consent about a very personal and sexualized activity on the spot in front of their peers,” Judge Keith J. Kirchubel wrote. “ ... Multiple students manifested extreme discomfort about these skits in their reports to other teachers and to (the principal).”

Honka could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Other allegations detailed against Honka in the court order:

—During a family tree project, Honka told students that her own son was conceived using the sperm from one of her aunt’s husbands.

—Honka revealed her own history of abuse by her parents during a different class assignment.

—In a team-building exercise, she had pairs of students hold a balloon between their bodies and try to pass it around without using their hands and without popping it.

—Honka described her own suicidal ideation in detail to students in her class.

—She confronted and berated other staff members in front of students multiple times.

DPS leaders placed Honka on leave in March 2025 following an investigation into the allegations against the teacher and moved to fire her months later. Honka, who is gay, accused DPS officials of discriminating against her because of her sexual orientation, according to a court document.

She appealed her termination and the case went before Kirchubel, who ruled in April that there was sufficient evidence for DPS to fire the teacher for incompetence and neglect of duty.

“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 (Honka’s) students with little or no educational value,” the judge wrote in his decision.

The DPS Board of Education unanimously voted in May to approve Honka’s termination.

“The safety, emotional well-being and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of Denver Public Schools,” district spokesman Bill Good said in a statement. “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.”

Denver police also investigated the allegations against Honka after receiving a report from the principal at Northeast Early College.

“DPD was notified of an incident, but no reported crime occurred, and it was referred to DPS for further investigation,” police spokesman Sean Towle said. He declined to release a police report on the investigation.

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