A New Jersey school district rewrote its policy which would notify parents if their child has changed their gender identity after the state’s Democratic attorney general sued the school system.
Hanover Township School District modified its “Parental Notice of Material Circumstances” policy to remove any mention of gender identity or sexual orientation from its criteria of when teachers should notify parents of changes or concerns with their child, according to Northjersey.com. New Jersey Democratic AG Matthew Platkin filed a civil rights complaint one day after the school board adopted its parental notice policy to the state’s Division of Civil Rights, alleging that the policy discriminates against students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. (RELATED: Largest Teachers Union Backs LGBTQ Group That Encourages Hiding Student Gender Changes)
“I’m disappointed that discriminatory criteria were put into the original policy,” Karen Mascolo, a parent within the district, told the outlet. “I want my children to trust their teachers and learn in an environment without fearing repercussions.”
The prior policy required educators to “’say something to the parents and appropriate school administrators’ if they ‘see something that could adversely affect the social/emotional well-being of a child,'” noting that this applied to gender identity and sexual orientation.
New Jersey has state guidance which requires school districts to accept a student’s change in gender identity. The state does not require parental consent for a student to change their gender at school, according to the New Jersey guidance.
After Platkin’s lawsuit, a state Superior Court temporarily blocked the school district from enforcing its parental notice policy, Northjersey.com reported.
A students waits for First Lady Jill Biden to arrive to his classroom at the Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey on March 15, 2021. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANNA MONEYMAKER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Hanover Township Board of Education believes that parents need to be fully informed of all material issues that could impact their children so that they – as parents – can provide the proper care and support for their children,” the board of education said in a statement following the lawsuit. “The Board will vigorously defend this common-sense policy that protects parental rights and ensures the safety of all school children.”
School districts across the country are pushing policies which keep student’s gender transitions a secret from their parents; eight of the nation’s largest school systems including Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools and New York Public Schools require educators to conceal students’ change in gender from others, including their parents.
Hanover Township School District did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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