New Jersey sues school districts over transgender notification policy, claims it poses ‘severe risk’ to kids
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said the 'discriminatory policies' increase the risk of student suicide
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy's administration has filed lawsuits against three school districts that adopted new policies related to transgender students.
The policies at Middletown school district, Marlboro school district and Manalapan-Englishtown Regional school district were approved on Tuesday. Just 24 hours later, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin filed the three "emergency" lawsuits.
Platkin claimed the districts were endangering the safety of transgender students by enacting the policies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Middletown, the new policy states that teachers and administrators must now alert parents if their child begins using a different name, pronouns, or a bathroom that contradicts their sex.
BIDEN'S TITLE IX CHANGES MEAN THIS LOCKER ROOM HORROR IS COMING TO A SCHOOL NEAR YOU
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gives a victory speech to supporters at Grand Arcade at the Pavilion on November 3, 2021 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
In the lawsuit, Platkin stated that "outing" transgender, gender-nonconforming and non-binary students poses "serious mental health risks; threatens physical harm to students, including increased risk of suicide; and shirks the District's duty to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In New Jersey, we will not tolerate any action by schools that threatens the health and safety of our young people. Without question, the discriminatory policies passed by these Boards of Education, if allowed to go into effect, will harm our kids and pose severe risk to their safety," Platkin later added.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Middletown Board Counsel Bruce W. Padula said the policy was neither not discriminatory and does not treat transgender students differently.
"While the State of New Jersey mandates that school districts adopt a transgender student policy, specifically singling out these students in our community, Middletown’s policy treats all students the same. If any student, regardless of gender identity or expression, sought to change their official school records or was seeking or identified as needing counseling, parents would and should be notified, just as they are informed of every other aspect of their child’s activities in school. Contrary to the Attorney General’s false narrative, this is not an ‘outing’ policy. Middletown will vehemently defend its policy," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The policies in the K to 8 districts of Marlboro and Manalapan-Englishtown include similar provisions, with slight alterations related to what triggers a notification to parents and whether school professionals are included in the discussion.
Democratic New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin filed the lawsuits against the three school districts on Wednesday June 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Catalini, File)
For example, the new policy in Marlboro notes that "the principal or designee will speak with the student first before discussing a student's gender nonconformity or transgender status with the student's parent or guardian."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Manalapan-Englishtown, students who ask for unique accommodations related to their gender identity would trigger a notification to school professionals, who would then convey that information to parents.
Platkin has said that transgender children are a protected class and as such, school districts implementing similar policies directly violate New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A girl holds the Transgender Pride flag during the pride march held in one of the most important streets of Madrid, Spain. (Luis Soto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The lawsuits also state that the policies directly defy the New Jersey Department of Education's policy on transgender students, which claims parents should not be informed about what their child does in school.
The Murphy administration, as such, is seeking a temporary restraining order against the named districts to block the policies from going into effect.
Marlboro school board attorney Marc Zitomer made a statement following the lawsuit, asserting that the district disagrees with the position that such a policy is "discriminatory" or "improper."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It is our position that keeping parents in the dark about important issues involving their children is counterintuitive and contrary to well-established U.S. Supreme Court case law that says that parents have a constitutional right to direct and control the upbringing of their children," he said.
The governor's office and the three school districts did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.