TRENTON, NJ – There will be no more ‘boys and girls’ or ‘ladies and gentlemen’ in public schools across New Jersey as school board leaders in the state adopt a new policy making public eduction gender-neutral.
Sex Education classes in the state will now be separated based on gender identity, not biological sex.
The New Jersey State Board of Education has adopted an “equity” policy to make language gender-neutral.
They replaced terms like “men and women” with “persons” and changed all mentions of “equality” in the state’s administrative code to “equity.” Additionally, the new policy requires schools to separate students for sexual education classes based on gender identity instead of biological sex.
Some Republican state senators expressed concern, arguing that the focus on social causes may hinder student education. There were also objections to the idea of separating sexual education classes by gender identity, as it could result in boys joining girls’ classes, leading to claims of discrimination.
Senators Anthony M. Bucco and Michael Testa said that the State Board of Education is focused more on advancing identity politics than building stronger relationships between parents and teachers in response to the board’s vote to approve a proposal to remove “equality” in the “Managing for Equality and Equity in Education” Chapter of New Jersey’s Administrative Code. The board should be more respectful of parental rights, the senators said.
“All kids deserve the opportunity to succeed in-and-out of the classroom but the best way to ensure this success is by bringing their parents, teachers, and local school administrators together, not by driving a wedge between them. Today’s State Board of Education vote unfortunately drives a wedge further between these groups,” said Bucco (R-25). “Students are falling behind from pandemic-related learning loss and instead of prioritizing reading, writing, and math, the State Board is infusing progressive identity politics into the classroom. Parents are rightfully concerned about what’s being taught to their children and deserve to have a voice in their local school communities. We do not need government bureaucrats substituting on their behalf.”
Parental rights advocates opposed the adoption of the policy and the switch to gender-neutral language, and some threatened legal action against the board. In the past, three school districts in New Jersey faced lawsuits from the state attorney general after adopting policies that required educators to reveal a student’s transgender identity to parents.
The state’s Department of Education Transgender Guidance states that schools must accept a student’s asserted gender identity, and parental consent is not required.
The controversial State Board of Education proposal was narrowly approved by a vote of 6 to 5 to amend the Managing for Equality and Equity in Education Chapter of New Jersey’s Administrative Code to remove gendered nouns and pronouns as well as all mentions of the word equality, retitling the Chapter “Managing for Equity in Education.” It was clear by comments from members of the board that more time is needed to address these tough issues and allow more stakeholder input to get the standards right. Members of the audience were visibly and audibly upset when the proposal was approved.
“The purpose of this chapter is to ensure all students, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status, are provided equal access to educational programs and services by district boards of education,” the code reads now.
Gender-related policies, including sports, bathrooms, and locker room arrangements, are topics of debate across the country. For example, the American Civil Liberties Union sued a Missouri school that refused to let a boy use the girls’ restroom. Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration issued guidance that mandates public school athletics, bathrooms, and locker rooms to be separated based on biological sex.