A New Jersey school district fighting for the right to tell parents their children are transgender is trying a new tactic — by voting to repeal the state’s ban on “outing” children.
Hanover Township, which includes the cities of Cedar Knolls and Whippany, voted unanimously Monday night to eliminate a state policy that prevents schools from notifying parents about their child’s transition.
A total of 20 counties are expected to follow suit, The Post has been told.
The move poses a new challenge to Gov. Phil Murphy’s Democratic administration, which has gone to court to stop schools from telling parents about their children being transgender.
Middletown School Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco (back row, second left) told The Post that 20 districts will effectively call New Jersey’s bank state by repealing a policy that prevents them from telling parents their children are transitioning. They were wrongly told the policy was “mandatory” four years ago, the state admitted in court during litigation over the issue. Jack Ciattarelli/Twitter
New Jersey’s governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, called demands by school districts to be allowed to tell parents their children are transitioning “a pure culture war.”
The county’s tactics exploited embarrassing revelations made by the state’s deputy attorney general during a court case New Jersey brought against Hanover Township and three other counties.
The Deputy AG acknowledged that Hanover, Middletown, Manalapan-Englishtown and Marlboro Township districts were wrongly told four years ago that the ban on notifying parents about transitioning children was “mandatory” – when it was only a “guideline”.
All four were told that state policy 5756, which says there is “no affirmative duty for any school district employee to notify a student’s parent or guardian of a student’s gender identity or expression,” is “mandatory.”
This spring, all four districts voted to amend policies so that parents will be notified if their children begin to shift “socially,” by using a different pronoun or first name, changing the gender of the bathroom they use or changing their sports team. they take to play. on.
Middletown North is one of two high schools in the Middletown school district. Alex N. Gecan via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Before that took effect, the state went to court to accuse the district of forcibly removing trans children, increasing the risk of suicide, and asked a judge to issue an injunction.
But during the trial against Hanover Township, Deputy AG James Michael told Judge Stuart Minkowitz that policy 5756 is not actually mandatory.
“It felt like a complete bombshell to us,” Middletown School Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco told The Post.
In Middletown, it was adopted by the previous board because it was labeled “mandatory” by a third-party provider, Strauss Esmay, which alerted the district to new statewide education policies, Tobacco said.
Trans activists protested outside a Middletown school board meeting in June when it approved a new policy on parental notification. NJ.com
The state won an injunction after a hearing last month — but an acknowledgment that the policy was a recommendation, not a mandate, opened a new legal path for districts: voting to repeal 5756, rather than amend it, allowing them to deal with trans children on a case-by-case basis .
Lafayette, a small K-8 district, repealed it in July for “no hype and no one [from the state] seemed to care,” their school board president, Joshua Aikens, told The Post.
And according to Tobacco, others plan to follow suit. “On Saturday night, I spoke with 18 other districts across the state, and they plan to abolish only 5756,” he said.
But since Middletown, Manalapan-Englishtown and Marlboro have been temporarily blocked from implementing their changes to 5756, it’s unclear whether they will be able to repeal it, or whether Hanover Township’s move will hold up in court.
Another school in the Middletown district that has been prevented by an injunction from implementing its new policy on transgender students. Facebook
“Because we’re under an injunction, there’s a big question about how we’re going to proceed,” Tobacco said.
Middletown schools first saw their policy change about a year ago, when the board was told that the school used the new names of children who had changed gender identities, but changed standardized tests when they were sent home to use their birth names.
And if a child seeks mental health services because they are transgender, the school tells the child’s parents that they have depression or anxiety.
The board was told, “We have to do that. We are not allowed to tell the parents,” said Tobacco.
Their revised policy, which Tobacco calls “compassion,” only takes effect if children publicly declare they are transitioning socially and make changes to their school records, use a different bathroom or pronoun. It does not require parental consent.
The Post has reached out to Strauss Esmay for comment.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
