Court order stopping schools' LGBTQ policy remains

By: Mary Ann Koruth
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... A court order that temporarily stops the Hanover Township school district from implementing a policy that would require teachers to disclose to parents the gender identity and sexual orientation of LGBTQ students will remain in place until an injunction and legal challenge brought by the state attorney general are resolved.
..... No decision was made Tuesday 905/30/2023] by state Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz, who said he would "hold off" on ordering a preliminary restraining order, or injunction against implementing the "parental notifications' policy.
..... Instead, he suggested the district work with the state Office of the Attorney General to "bridge the divide" and arrive at a policy acceptable to both parties.
..... If the two do not reach an agreement, Minkowitz said, he will issue a ruling, but he did not specify a timeline.
..... The policy, adopted by the school board two weeks ago, would require school staff to notify parents about students' "sexual orientation: transitioning: gender identity or expression," or other information the staff members believe has a material impact on a student's well being.
..... The policy was blocked by a court order the day after it was passed when Attorney General Matt Platkin's office requested and won an emergency restraining order against implementing it in the K-8 school district. The order said the policy discriminates against protected classes of LGBTQ students by violating their civil rights and breaking New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.
..... The school district responded with a public statement saying it would "vigorously defend" itself.
..... The Attorney General's Office was asking for a "status quo" on the block, put in place by the courts two weeks ago, until an administrative complaint and lawsuit filed by the Division on Civil rights in the Attorney General's Office against the school district is resolved, Deputy Attorney General James Michael told the judge Tuesday. [05/30/2023]
..... "We're not asking your honor to determine whether the policy violates the Law Agassi Discrimination, we're only asking for the status quo to be maintained. We're also not saying that the school may not inform parents about LGBTQ children's concerning behavior. What we are asking is that they may not report solely the sexual orientation or LGBTQ status of a student, Michael said.
..... The policy puts "protected classes into policy" as a "reportable" fact, and being LGBTQ should not be the criterion to be reported, Michael told the judge. This made the state's request for injunction legitimate, he said.
..... The school board's policy is legal, said Hanover Township board attorney Matt Giacobbe, because teachers act in place of parents, or "inloco parentis."
..... He read out the list of criteria for a parent to be notified, which includes depression and academic and athletic prowess, along with sexual orientation. These were just "examples," he told the judge.
..... Minkowitz disagreed, saying the list of factors were not "examples" but "requirements."
..... He also told Giacobbe that the policy required all school staff, not only teachers, to report concerning student behavior,

Parental rights

..... the legal challenge to Hanover Township Public Schools' policy appears to be the Murphy administration's first against a school board over "Parental rights," a team increasingly used during the last two years [2021-2022] that refers to more conservative groups' efforts to pressure school boards into including parents in policy, educational curricula and content decisions, areas traditionally left to experts and school administrators.
..... The so-called parental rights movement has strong support from some Republican politicians nationally and in New Jersey. It is believed to have risen from the backlash against sex education standards in public schools that were revised during the pandemic, as well as the nationwide "anti-woke" movement against including LGBtQ and race-related content in school curricula.
..... "If a child is struggling with their gender identity" and they are "withdrawn," schools have a "duty to notify" parents, Giacobbe argued on Tuesday. [05/30/2023]
..... Why didn't the policy mention race, religion or ethnicity, Minkowitz asked. "Would that be appropriate?" he said about LGBTQ students being singled out by the policy, thereby violating the Law Against Discrimination, which is "the law of the land."
..... Not if the law of the land "intrudes on parental rights, Giacobbe argued. He also questioned guidance issued by the state that says public schools do not have to inform parents of their children's sexual orientation.
..... The cases boiled down to an issue of "pure law," Minkowitz said, because the school district had "identified a protected class for reporting." He asked Giacobbe if parental rights trump children's civil rights.
..... The policy was also "constitutionally vague," the judge said, adding that the language would require teachers to "implicitly investigate' insight like a student's sexuality while exposing teachers to discipline if they did not notify parents.
..... He said he applauded Hanover Township's intent to protect children, but noted that it was the attorney general's intent, too, and that the parties would be better served by coming to an agreement out of court before he would rule.
.... The hearing ended with Giacobbe asking for a ruling that would simply "excise," or remove, any language related to gender identity and sexual orientation while keeping the remainder of the policy in place.
..... The injunction should apply to the entire policy and remain blocked, Michael said, because leaving parts of it in place would allow it to be implemented in ways that harm and expose LGBTQ students, going by early versions of the policy.
..... "I think there is an absolute concern above the implementation in the way the policy has been considered and presented by the board," Michael told the judge.
..... Early versions of the policy had language about religion and political affiliation that was later removed, but sexual orientation was retained in the language, Michael told the judge.
..... The final policy was brought up the first two times in public board meetings as "codifying" the school's existing transgender policy, he said.
..... The Office of the Attorney General did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the next steps and whether it would consider negotiating with the school district.
..... "If there is a way that we can resolve it where there are parental notations to parents over things that are materially impacting their children that the Attorney General's Office finds acceptable, that;s something I will absolutely work towards," Giacobbe told reprobates outside the courtroom.

..... Staff intern Grace Reed contributed to this story.

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