When asked if he would want to be notified if his own children changed their gender in public schools, adding that most parents would want to know, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy responded, “I don’t agree with that.”
Murphy and his administration are suing several school districts over their policies to keep parents informed about important decisions their children make while in public school.
“The law is clear,” Murphy said. “I believe that parents have been, have been, and will be at the table. The notion that we’re not letting parents’ voices be heard is ridiculous and it’s not supported by the facts.”
Murphy says as Governor, he has to balance that with protecting ‘the most vulnerable of our precious kids’.
“It’s not the job of a teacher or a staff member to ‘out’ a kid who is going through some gender identity process,” Murphy said.
Many is his own Democrat party are publicly disagreeing with his assessment, including one NJEA leader in Ocean County, Brick Township Mayor Lisa Crate who slammed Murphy last week saying that the state’s decision on parent-teacher and student relationships and conversations is wrong.
Crate, a Democrat and President of the Jackson Education Association is running for election for mayor in November.
Crate stated her opposition against what she termed as Governor Murphy’s “reckless assault on parental rights.”
She argues that parents have a right to be informed about their child’s mental, physical, and sexual health and that the current policy effectively bars educators from facilitating that communication.