CHERRY HILL, NJ — A federal lawsuit was lodged on Oct. 12 by Frederick Short Jr., whose children are enrolled at Cherry Hill High School, contesting a New Jersey regulation that bars educational institutions from revealing a student’s gender status to parents.
The suit claims that this rule breaches Short’s constitutional rights to oversee the upbringing and mental well-being of his children.
In an interview with NJ.com, Short said his discontent with the notion of schools withholding that information. His concern is primarily directed at the educational institutions, accusing them of concealing the facts.
Neither the Education Department of New Jersey nor the office of the state attorney general offered remarks on the pending lawsuit.
The Cherry Hill School District has not commented on the lawsuit.
The legal action centers on a directive from the New Jersey Department of Education.
According to the directive, educational staff are not obligated to alert parents concerning their child’s gender identification. Short’s lawsuit contends that policies endorsing “secrecy and the promotion of double-lives are damaging to the mental health of young people.”
Additionally, the state directive suggests that schools should keep individual files for transgender students and disclose such details to parents solely when it is legally compulsory or under specific circumstances like instances of bullying.
This legal challenge occurs in a broader context. A total of five school districts have abandoned policies mandated by the state directive. Four school districts have instated policies that compel parental notification. They are currently under legal scrutiny from the state attorney general’s office.