School Board Mulls Pulling Transgender Policy From Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The battle over disputed LGBTQIA policies between local school districts and the state of New Jersey continues, as a policy involving transgender students is now being eyed for removal in Long Valley.

State Department of Education Policy 5756 has made headlines in the past months, raising questions as districts statewide are being sued by the state for trying to implement policies that require schools to inform parents if a child identifies as transgender.

The policy was originally characterized as mandated by the private policy-writing company, Strauss Esmay Associates.

But in a legal argument by the New Jersey Attorney General in a case involving the neighboring district of Hanover, statements were made that the policy was not mandatory.

This paved the way for the removal of the policy, which some parents and school officials oppose because it limits notification to parents whose students approach school counselors about identifying as transgender or nonbinary.

Board member John Holly brought the topic up to his fellow board members during the Oct. 10 school board meeting, making a case for the repeal of the policy within the Washington Township district.

"Any policy that does not require parental notification for a group of kids that we all agree are at risk is not in the child's best interest, and it's not in the parent's best interest, so it needs to be removed," Holly said.

Board member Stephanie Wilson questioned the use of the phrase "at risk," noting that not every transgender student suffers from mental health.

"If any student comes in with a safety issue, that is parental notification; right away, parents are notified, counselors are notified. What I don't understand is if a student is just transgender, what is their risk if they're not presenting with self-harm or suicidal thoughts?" Wilson said.

Parents and LGBTQ advocates spoke out last month against the school board's consideration of implementing a modified "parental notification" policy in the district.

"I was alarmed a couple of weeks ago when I saw that trans identity and gender fluidity was equated to mental illness, and that was the motivation for this measure," Long Valley resident Chad Luibl said.

"If a child, as some of you are trying to claim, is having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming themselves because of them trying to figure out how they feel about their gender, that is already a notification process; we already have that in place," resident Cynthia McConnell said.

Board members also questioned who the burden would fall on to "out" the students to their parents if the policy was to be removed from the school district.

"If a child comes to me and says, 'I want to talk to you in private,' and he tells me this and I feel that he's emotionally not able to handle it, then my next step is to go to administration, social worker and a psychologist and meet with them and then they decide with the kid how to approach the parents. But, me as the teacher, outing the kid will never happen," board member Carmine Capogrosso said.

"That should not be the place of a teacher, to out a student," Wilson said.

The board members in favor of repealing the policy noted that the district could instead come up with their own policy that would address all sides of the conversation.

Ultimately, the subject was tabled for a later date, allowing the board to do more research on the policy and alternative solutions.

Attorney General Matt Platkin has argued that in these rulings, districts are putting transgender and LGBTQIA+ students at risk of harm from their parents and violating their civil rights.

The state previously cited data showing that 40 percent of transgender youth are not supported by their families, and 1 in 10 transgender children or teens are met with physical violence from their parents.

"Any school districts that repeal Policy 5756 must be mindful of their legal obligation to follow the LAD. As the Superior Court notes, 'the LAD remains the law of the land' – and while Policy 5756 is not mandatory, following the LAD is," Platkin said.