Hey School Boards, with Parental Rights: Follow NJ Law!
Children’s Advocacy Project
Reading time less than four minutes
For the last five years, the Center for Garden State Families has opposed the controversial policy known as 5756.
School board members will tell you that 5756 is guidance for educators regarding their transgendered students. But in operation and application, it is treated like a law. In our opinion, this is what policy 5756 really is:
Policy 5756 is a license to lie to parents about their children.
Policy 5756 is a license to keep secrets from parents about their children.
Policy 5756 is a license to groom children into the transgender and or alphabet soup of unfounded, unscientific developmental gender identity disorders.
Abuse thrives in secrecy!
Abuse hides in secrecy!
And now we have two clear examples of abuse in our government schools perpetrated on our children. The headlines read:
May 5th, Bridgewater-Raritan HS Teacher Sentenced In Sex Assault Of Student The student, identified only by the fictitious name of Jane Doe, and her mother filed a lawsuit in Somerset County Superior Court against the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District on Feb. 8, 2024, claiming Pinto sexually groomed her and repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused her over four years. The teacher, Lydia Pinto, pleaded guilty and was about to face five years in jail, but a lenient liberal judge gave her 364 days despite the repeated sexual abuse of a minor student in the New Jersey government school. Parents and concerned citizens of the Bridgewater-Raritan school district are asking that Policy 5756 be repealed. They are being met with harsh resistance from the school superintendent, Robert Beers, and liberal school board members.
And on May 20th, "Principal Out At New Jersey School Amid Lawsuit Alleging Sex Abuse Cover-Up". The principal and assistant principal at an Essex County elementary school have been placed on leave after a lawsuit alleges a teacher sexually harassed an 11-year-old girl for more than three years.
In a letter to parents, Glen Ridge School District Superintendent Kyle Arlington said Ridgewood Avenue School Principal Michael Donovan and Assistant Principal Jonathan Heitmann have been placed on leave "until further notice." Click on the link above to read more.
The controversial Strauss Esmay policy, known as 5756, implemented by a majority of New Jersey school districts, is not the law. 5756 is a policy, just a policy. In fact, it violates existing law.
The 2018 policy was to establish guidelines to provide direction for school systems and addressing common issues affecting transgender students.
"A school district shall accept a students asserted gender identity; parental consent is not required. Further a student did not meet any threshold diagnosis or treatment requirements to have his or her gender identity recognized and respected by the district, school, or school personnel. Nor is a legal or court ordered name change required. There is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student's parents or guardian of the students gender identity or expression."
The above statement, taken from the policy itself, is a breach of trust and confidence of the parents of New Jersey school children.
" There are many instances where a parent or guardian of a minor student disagrees with the student regarding the name and pronoun to be used at school and in the students educational records. A parent or guardian may object to a minor student's name change request. School districts should consult their board attorney regarding the minor student's civil rights and protections under the NJLAD (New Jersey Law against Discrimination). Staff should continue to refer to the student in accordance with the students chosen name and pronoun in school and they consider providing resource information regarding family counseling and support services outside of the school district."
The above statements violate a parent's or legal guardian's 14th Amendment right to due process. Furthermore, the policy unduly forces teachers, school personnel, and volunteers, regardless of their role at the school, to violate their own conscience, deny reality, and lie to a student by addressing the minor child according to their desired imagination.
Policy 5756 ignores existing statutory law! This practice is unlawful and must be stopped immediately.
Here is New Jersey's statutory law regarding parental rights.
18A:35-4.6. Title of the act
This act shall be known as the "Parents Rights to Conscience Act of 1979."
18A:35-4.7. Parent's statement of conflict with conscience
Any child whose parent or guardian presents to the school principal a signed statement that any part of the instructions in health, family life education or sex education is in conflict with his conscience, or sincerely held moral or religious beliefs shall be excused from that portion of the course where such instruction is being given and no penalties as to credit or graduation shall result therefrom.
18A:35-4.8 Medical treatment or examination; objection of parent or guardian.
3. No pupil whose parent or guardian objects to such pupil receiving medical treatment or medical examination or physical examination shall be compelled to receive such treatment or examination; provided, however, that no objection shall be made to a physical or medical examination of any child with a disability for the purpose of determining whether such child shall be admitted to any class or school for children with disabilities or of any pupil to determine whether the pupil is ill or infected with a communicable disease or of any person who appears to be under the influence of a drug.
We, the citizens of New Jersey, who love and care about our children and their future, demand that our schools follow the law. We demand that the New Jersey Department of Education cease-and-desist all policies that promote the unscientific and dangerous behaviors of transgenderism. Transgenderism is a mental illness. There are no replicated scientific studies supporting any biologic etiology for transgenderism. This requires parents to be informed and for appropriate psychological and sociological interventions to be applied by the parent and legal guardian.
Follow the law!