Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has gained control of the board that oversees development at Walt Disney World, a move that restricts the autonomy of Disney over its theme-park complex.

That shift, the result of a state legislative special session, means that Mr. DeSantis, and not Disney, will appoint the five members of the board of a special tax district, which has allowed the company to largely self-govern its 25,000-acre Disney World complex. Disney, however, will maintain its special tax status, which Mr. DeSantis tried to revoke last year and which still affords the company some perks, like the ability to approve development plans without scrutiny from certain local regulators.

The victory for Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, is the latest development in a battle between the governor and Disney, the state’s largest private employer. How did the rift get to this point? Here is some background.

What have Mr. DeSantis and Disney been fighting over?

In March, the governor signed legislation that prohibits classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in certain elementary school grades.

The law, the Parental Rights in Education Act, often referred to by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has led to debate around the nation over the impact that the law and others like it could have on schoolchildren.

The legislation was heralded by conservatives and scorned by L.G.B.T.Q. activists and many schoolteachers. Although initially silent, Disney joined the debate when its chief executive, Bob Chapek, made several remarks criticizing the bill.

Republican lawmakers in the state — including Mr. DeSantis, a potential candidate for president in 2024 — were not happy with Disney’s response. “If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,” Mr. DeSantis wrote in a fund-raising email to supporters.

What did conservatives say about Disney?

In response to Disney’s denouncement of the education legislation, Mr. DeSantis and Fox News hosts began to mock the company as “Woke Disney.”

It was not the first time the corporation was accused of adopting stances that conservatives deemed went too far. Within the past few years, Disney has made several changes to its theme parks and streaming services that have drawn their criticism.

The changes include a “retheming” of the ride Splash Mountain to disassociate it from its inspiration, the 1946 film “Song of the South,” in which a former slave tells African folk tales. Disney’s streaming service also pulled the film from its collection.

Disney World also revamped its Pirates of the Caribbean ride by removing a scene depicting pirates selling women in an auction. And Disney also cut the greeting “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from some of its fireworks shows to be more inclusive.

The dispute between Disney and Florida lawmakers is indicative of the mounting pressure corporations face to be involved in partisan battles.

What happened with Disney’s special tax status?

Last year, Mr. DeSantis tried to revoke Disney World’s special tax status, which began in 1967 and lets the megaresort essentially function as its own municipal government. Although the theme park is sandwiched between two counties, it operates as a special zone — known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Such a designation has allowed the theme park to make its own decisions on the planning and permitting process for construction on its property, to levy taxes to pay for its own fire and medical response services and even to generate some of its own electricity. Through that status, the company has saved millions of dollars annually in fees and taxes, according to experts.

Disney has leveraged the benefits of that designation to build out its resort, which today includes multiple theme parks, hotels and a large bus fleet.

The Legislature allowed Mr. DeSantis to take away Disney’s special status in 2022 until it realized that the abolishment of the district — set for June 1, 2023 — would require taxpayers in Orange and Osceola Counties to pick up the tab for Disney World services like fire protection, policing and road maintenance.

The district also carried roughly $1 billion in debt. If the district had been abolished, that debt would have been transferred to the counties.

Looking to avoid the implications of abolishing the district, the Florida Legislature held a special session this month, during which state lawmakers decided to allow Disney to keep the special tax district and other perks, including the ability to issue tax-exempt bonds.

But Disney, which employs roughly 80,000 people, will no longer be able to appoint the members of the tax district’s board. Mr. DeSantis will now get to do that.

How has Disney responded to losing its control of the board?

After the Legislature voted to take away Disney’s control of the board, Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement that Disney was “ready to work within this new framework.”

“We will continue to innovate, inspire and bring joy to the millions of guests who come to Florida to visit Walt Disney World each year,” Mr. Vahle said.

But several Florida lawmakers expressed concern over the move to give control of the board to Mr. DeSantis.

State Senator Linda Stewart, a Democrat who represents Orlando, said in a statement that “the entire move is retaliation by the governor for Disney’s vocal support for the L.G.B.T.Q. community.”

“Removing a business’s independence and ability to voice concerns of their own employees is wrong,” Ms. Stewart said.

Paul Renner, a Republican who is the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, said after the special session that the move to take control from Disney “delivered on right-sizing and reorganizing special districts to protect taxpayers and ensure that no one business has any special advantages over their competition.”

Brooks Barnes contributed reporting.