Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include a response from the Hanover Township school board and the state’s largest teachers union.
The New Jersey Attorney General filed a civil rights complaint Wednesday against the Hanover Township Board of Education and public schools, challenging a policy passed Tuesday requiring school staff to notify parents of their children’s gender identity and sexual orientation.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin joined Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights, in filing an emergency motion in Superior Court to prevent the new policy from going into effect.
“We will always stand up for the LGBTQ+ community here in New Jersey and look forward to presenting our arguments in court in this matter,” Platkin said. “We are extremely proud of the contributions LGBTQ+ students make to our classrooms and our communities, and we remain committed to protecting them from discrimination in our schools.”
The complaint argues that the policy violates the state’s Law Against Discrimination because it discriminates based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, requiring parental notification for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer students but not for their peers. The policy would also put such students’ safety and mental health at risk and goes against guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education, which protects students’ confidentiality and privacy.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the new policy calls for all school staff to “immediately, fully and accurately inform a student’s parent(s) whenever such staff member is made aware of, directly or indirectly, any facts or circumstances that may have a material impact on the student’s physical and/or mental health, safety and/or social/emotional well-being,” including, among other things, a student’s “sexuality,” “sexual orientation,” “transitioning,” and “gender identity or expression.”
In a statement, the board said the policy did not target students based on any protected status, but requires staff to notify administrators and parents when they become aware of anything that may impact a student’s well-being.
It listed a range of 30 issues, including peer, academic, or athletic pressure, school performance, anxiety, depression, fatigue, isolationism, preoccupation with anti-social music, sexual activity, sexuality, sexual orientation, transitioning, gender identity or expression, and familial/cultural challenges.
Under the Law Against Discrimination, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression are protected statuses.
The statement concluded: “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 state is not challenging the policy’s requirements for parental notification related to “substance use,” “alcohol use,” “firearms,” or “unlawful activity.”
The K-8 district serves about 1,300 students in Whippany and Cedar Knolls in Morris County.
Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, an LGBTQ education and advocacy group, said the Law Against Discrimination is meant to ensure that LGBTQ people are protected from mistreatment.
“It is crucial that all educational institutions, including the Hanover School District, uphold and enforce these legal protections without exception,” he said. “To the LGBTQ+ students, especially transgender students and their families affected by this policy, we want to assure you that you are not alone. We will fight tirelessly to protect your rights and create an environment where you are celebrated, affirmed, and respected for who you are.”
Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, said the state’s largest teachers union found the policy concerning.
“It appears to be intentionally discriminatory in targeting LGBTQ+ students and to cruelly equate LGBTQ+ identity with a host of other illegal and violent activities,” he said. “It will have a chilling effect in the district and leave already vulnerable students fearful for their safety and unable to seek the support they need to thrive. It’s a terrible example of what happens when the culture wars waged by adults to foment division for political purposes trickle down to harm children.”
Jeanne LoCicero, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, praised the Attorney General and Division of Civil Rights for taking swift action against “a discriminatory and intrusive school policy.”
Without a student’s “full and voluntary consent,” notifying their guardians about their sexual orientation or gender identity could result in suicide, depression, or bullying and open them to violence from or abandonment by their families.
“Enacting a policy that has teachers policing their schools to out LGBTQ+ students is a disconcerting return to tactics used to criminalize sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said. “It targets students based on their LGBTQ+ status and cannot stand.”
In February, the Colts Neck Board of Education in Monmouth County rejected a similar policy.
According to a report in the Daily Record, the policy, which was not immediately available online, said if staff believed a child would be harmed by disclosing their LGBTQ-related status to parents, the school would notify authorities or child protective services instead.
But Fuscarino said for LGBTQ+ students, the fear of being outed without their consent can lead to significant stress and anxiety. “It can contribute to a hostile school environment and negatively impact their mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being,” he said.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Tina Kelley may be reached at tkelley@njadvancemedia.com.