In a blatant attack on parental rights and local control in education, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed civil rights complaints against three school districts for implementing policies notifying parents when their children struggle with sexual identity confusion.
Platkin asked the Superior Court of New Jersey for a restraining order against the parent notification policies of the Manalapan-Englishtown, Marlboro and Middletown Township school districts.
The complaints say that telling parents, “will irreparably harm transgender students as well as certain gender non-conforming, non-binary, genderqueer, and other gender-expansive students by mandating parental disclosure of their gender identity or expression.”
The attorney general portrays parents as enemies who will harm their confused children, while school officials evidently know better and should continue pushing minors toward hating their bodies and imagining they are the opposite sex:
“Outing” transgender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary students against their will poses serious mental health risks; threatens physical harm to students, including risking increased suicides; and shirks the District’s duty to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all.
The three boards of education passed “Amended Policy 5756,” which states:
[I]n the spirit of transparency and parental involvement, the district will notify a student’s parent/guardian of the student’s change in gender identity or expression except where there is reason to believe that doing so would pose a danger to the health or safety of the pupil. A school counselor will notify and collaborate with the student first before discussing a student’s gender nonconformity or transgender status with the student’s parent/guardian.
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District and Marlboro Township School District serve students in pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, while Middletown Township School District has students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.
In a press release announcing the complaints, Platkin said the policies “violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination’s (LAD) prohibition against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.”
The news release also said:
The policies also disregard and contradict guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education concerning the confidentiality and privacy of such information.
This isn’t the first time Attorney General Platkin has attacked local school board policies and parental rights in education. As New Jersey Family Policy Center (NJFPC) explained:
On May 16, the Hanover Township School Board passed policy 8463 known as Parental Notice of Material Circumstances. It requires school staff to notify parents whenever their child’s mental health or social and emotional well-being is impacted. It lists over 39 possible issues that parents need to be informed about.
Platkin filed a civil rights lawsuit against that policy, as well. Focus on the Family ally NJFPC said,
In his view, parents have the right to be informed of the majority of the 39 issues listed in the policy except when it comes to gender identity/expression and sexual orientation. On those issues, parents must be kept in the dark.
As NJFPC reported, “A Court issued a temporary injunction barring the [Hanover] school board from following its adopted notification policy.”
Related articles and resources:
Florida Parents Sue School for Helping Teen ‘Transition’ – Without Their Knowledge or Consent
Minnesota Government Helps Provide “Sex Change” for Teen – Without Parent’s Consent
New Jersey Family Policy Council
Parents’ Lawsuit Against Massachusetts School That Hid Students’ Gender Transition Dismissed
Wisconsin Teachers Instructed to Hide Students’ Gender Identities from Parents
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