School board members, parental-rights supporters and LGBTQ+ advocates are waiting for an answer from a judge about whether three Monmouth County school districts can continue to follow new policies requiring school staff to notify parents if their child changes their gender identity.
The hearing, held Tuesday in Monmouth County, provides a look into the fight over parental rights brewing across the state. Supporters of parents’ rights assert that they, and all parents, have the right to know what is going on in their children’s lives when they are at school. Opponents argue that while parents do have rights, these rights may not trump other rights, such as the rights of members of protected groups, including transgender students.
“There will be irreparable harm to transgender students if these policies are implemented,” Deputy Attorney General James Michael argued in court Tuesday.
Once students are outed to their parents, the harm cannot be reversed, he said, adding that coming out should be done on a student’s own terms.
In Monmouth County
School boards in Middletown, Manalapan-Englishtown and Marlboro recently approved updates to their policies on transgender students and now require school staff to notify parents if their child changes gender identity or expression.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin and Director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights Sundeep Iyer filed civil rights complaints against the board of education and school district in each town, alleging that the new policies illegally discriminate against students based on gender identity and expression, violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Platkin and Iyer also filed emergency motions in Superior Court to prevent the new policies from being implemented while they are being challenged. They argue that allowing the policies to take effect while their legality is being challenged could cause irreparable harm to transgender students.
‘We don’t believe in keeping secrets from parents.’ — Marc Zitomer, attorney for Marlboro Board of Education
Tuesday’s hearing allowed lawyers representing the attorney general, the Division of Civil Rights and the school districts to argue whether the new policies can stand while the litigation is ongoing, or whether the districts should revert to their previous policy, which is more in line with the New Jersey Department of Education’s guidance for school districts regarding transgender students. Superior Court Judge David Bauman, who heard Tuesday’s arguments, said he will reach a decision shortly on whether the current policies can remain in effect amid the litigation.
Core arguments
Michael argued for the districts to revert back to the previous policies while the legality of the new policies is determined. He said he is not aware of any issues or harm that has been caused by the previous policies, which have existed for several years. The previous policies allow for exceptions to the parental notification requirement in situations when the health or safety of students is at risk.
Michael said the goal is for the administrative litigation to be resolved within 180 days. Marc Zitomer, the lawyer for the Marlboro Board of Education, said he believes it will take years.
‘We do not oppose and strongly affirm parental rights.’ — Deputy Attorney General James Michael, who said that parents’ rights must be balanced with a student’s right to go to school safely.
A similar legal process is already underway in Hanover, where Platkin filed a similar civil rights complaint against the Hanover Board of Education and its public schools, arguing that a new policy requiring schools to notify parents of their child’s gender identity and sexual orientation violates the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
In the Hanover case, a judge told the attorney general and the Hanover school board to rewrite a rule so it would not discriminate against gay, transgender and nonbinary students.
Different treatment?
Michael argued that the new policies are illegal because they subject students to different treatment based on their being transgender, which is a protected characteristic under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
Zitomer said this argument fails, because the state education department singled out transgender students by creating guidelines specific to them. The districts only created new policies to clarify the previous policies that followed the state’s guidelines, he said.
“We don’t believe in keeping secrets from parents,” he said.
Zitomer argued that notifying parents of a change in their child’s gender identity or expression is not “outing” students or violating a student’s right to privacy.
Michael said that while the attorney general’s office and the Division of Civil Rights support parents’ rights, it may not be safe for all transgender students to be out to their parents or guardians. In these cases, mandatory parental notification policies can put students at risk, he said.
“We do not oppose and strongly affirm parental rights,” Michael said. He added, however, that parents’ rights must be balanced with a student’s right to go to school safely.
Demonstrators outside courthouse
After the hearing, close to 50 spectators, school board members and lawyers filed out of the courthouse to meet the dozens of demonstrators waiting outside. Demonstrators came from across New Jersey, with some of them bringing along their school-age children who carried signs in support of parents’ rights.
Alice Dean from Colts Neck is a mother of two children and is a supporter of parents’ rights. She said she showed up to “protect the kids from themselves” and make sure the new policies requiring parental notification stay in place while their legality is debated and moving forward.
Shawn Hyland, the director of advocacy for the New Jersey Family Policy Center, also showed up to support the parental rights perspective. He said he hopes the judge sides with the school districts, allowing parents to stay informed and involved in their children’s lives.
“Not informing parents and keeping parents in the dark is grossly irresponsible and a big violation of their rights,” Hyland said.
Mike Gottesman, the founder of the New Jersey Public Education Coalition, challenged the parents’ rights movement, saying it prioritizes some parents’ rights over others. He showed up in support of protecting transgender students and other protected groups from discrimination in New Jersey schools.
“No one wants to be told that they don’t have the right to parent their kids,” said Gottesman. “My question is: Parent rights — yours, mine or ours? The only parents whose rights they seem to care about are the parents that agree with them,” he said.
