Manalapan-Englishtown Cannot Enact Transgender Student Policy, NJ Court Rules

MANALAPAN, NJ — The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education cannot enact a policy that requires their schools to notify parents when a student changes their gender identity, though they can consider alternative policies, the NJ Court of Appeals ruled on Monday.

The appellate court’s 34-page decision addressed a 2023 lawsuit from NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin against three Monmouth County school districts (Manalapan-Englishtown, Marlboro and Middletown), who were sued after enacting new policies for transgender students that would require school staff to notify parents when a student changes their gender identity.

The appellate court agreed with the Monmouth County Superior Court’s earlier ruling in 2023, which prevented the school districts from enacting these policies.

In the lawsuit, the state argued that Manalapan-Englishtown was putting LGBTQ+ and transgender kids at risk and violating New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination by implementing their new policy.

Before the school boards’ new policies were put in place, Manalapan-Englishtown, Marlboro, and Middletown used Policy 5756, “Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts,” which follows guidance from the NJ Department of Education.

In that policy, school districts are guided to accept a student’s gender identity, and school staff are not required to notify parents of a student’s change in gender identity or expression.

In June 2023, each of the three school boards amended Policy 5756 to require school staff to notify a student’s parent if that student requested a gender identity change at school.

The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District’s amended policy said the district would accept a student’s asserted gender identity without parental consent for kids in grades 6-8, though for students in grades Pre-K-5, the policy said the “responsibility for determining a student’s gender identity rests with the student’s parents/guardians.”

Though the board found that a student’s conversations with counselors, teachers, or other staff about that student’s gender identity and expression are entitled to confidentiality, the amended policy said the district would notify a student’s parent or guardian of the change if a student “requests a public social transition accommodation, such as public name/identity/pronoun change, bathroom/locker room accommodation, or club/sports accommodations, or the like,” provided there is no evidence that doing so would subject the student to physical or emotional harm or abuse.

“Prior to disclosure, the student shall be given the opportunity to personally disclose that information,” the policy said. “It shall be the policy of the Board to support and facilitate healthy communication between a transgender student and their family, when disclosure is consistent with this policy.”

The amended policy for Manalapan-Englishtown and Middletown also stated that if any emotional support services are provided to “transgender students, students facing other gender identity issues, or students who may be transitioning,” then the reason for counseling and/or referrals for mental health crisis and/or concerns should be provided to the parent or guardians in relation to parental notification/consent for such services.

In response to the boards’ amended policies, Platkin said these policies unlawfully discriminated against students based on their gender identity and gender expression, and alleged the policies “irreparably harmed transgender students by requiring parental disclosure of their gender identity without their consent,” the court’s decision said.

The appellate court upheld the injunction on the schools’ policies but reversed a provision that kept the school boards from considering new, alternative policies.

David Ferber, president of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education, said the trial court “abused its discretion” when ordering the board to maintain Policy 5756, and said the board believes that parental involvement is in the best interest of their students.

“The Appellate Division made clear that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered us — as the request of the Attorney General — to maintain Policy 5756, which he admitted is not mandatory,” Ferber said in a statement sent to Patch. “Therefore the board may choose to abolish the policy, as so many other NJ school districts have.”

“The Attorney General weaponized his position for political purposes, never afforded us a hearing before the Division on Civil Rights, and is wasting taxpayer dollars for a frivolous lawsuit against three school districts including Manalapan-Englishtown, which continues to be at the top of state rankings in education,” Ferber said. “We strongly believe that parental involvement is in the best interest of our K-8th grade students.“

Platkin said he was pleased with the ruling from the Appellate Division, and said it affirmed the Superior Court’s finding that the challenged school board policies likely violate NJ’s Law Against Discrimination and would result in “irreparable harm to some of our state’s most vulnerable students.”

“As all courts to have considered these cases have recognized, the State agrees that parents should be involved in making important decisions about their children,” Platkin said in a statement to Patch. “And as a parent, I certainly share that concern – which is why the State has never and will never seek a ‘ban’ on schools informing parents about their children. But what the courts have said is that schools cannot have a blanket policy that unfairly forces educators to choose between a vulnerable child’s safety and wellbeing and losing their job.”

“All our lawsuits have sought to do is to reinstate the status quo that has existed for years without controversy – one that was put in place by Gov. Chris Christie and that respects the need for parents to be informed about their children while safeguarding the civil rights of all students,” Platkin said.

The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Garden State Equality called the ruling a “major victory for transgender students, civil rights, and the fundamental principles of equality in our schools.”

“Today’s ruling affirms what concerned parents across the Garden State want: safe and affirming schools for all students,” said Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality. “It also sends a powerful message to transgender and gender-diverse youth: your safety, your rights, and your ability to be yourself are not up for debate in New Jersey.”

Editor’s Note: For general LGBTQ+ resources, you can visit this resource list from GLAAD. For LGBTQ+ crisis/suicide prevention hotlines and warmlines, you can view this list from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

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