MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On Monday of this week, the Middletown school district submitted all its legal filings to Monmouth County Superior Court regarding Policy 5756, its controversial transgender student policy that has gotten the district sued by the state of New Jersey.
Middletown’s policy requires schools notify parents if a child has their name changed on official school records, seeks to use a different bathroom, locker-room or sports team than one assigned to them at birth, or if a student requires counseling for gender issues.
NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin argues Middletown’s policy violates New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination, as it considers LGBTQIA+ kids and teens a protected class. Gov. Phil Murphy said on “Face the Nation” Sunday the Middletown school board is taking part in “a culture war” and not “protecting the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Bruce Padula, the lawyer for the Middletown school district, argued in his brief filed Monday that he specifically wrote Middletown’s policy to be “narrowly-tailored.” He wrote:
Parental notification only happens “when a student takes specific formal action: requests an official record change, or a public in-school transition accommodation, such as utilizing a different restroom (other than gender-neutral), or participating in a gender-specific club/sport not traditionally associated with one’s biological sex, but with the gender with which the student identifies.”
Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Indeed, were a cisgender student to engage in any of the above-referenced conduct which triggers the parental notification, the cisgender student’s parents would absolutely be notified,” he wrote.
Middletown says parents would not be notified if a student simply sought to go by a different name in class: It has to be a name change on official school records.
A parent would also not be notified if a child wore certain attire, put a different name down on their homework or assignments, or had a confidential discussion with a teacher or guidance counselor.
Also, Middletown’s policy has a caveat where if the teacher or guidance counselor felt the student’s safety may be at risk due to how Mom or Dad reacted at home, then the district would not inform parents.
You can read the exact wording of Middletown’s Policy 5756 here.
Middletown school superintendent also submitted an affidavit
Acting Middletown school superintendent Jessica Alfone also filed an affidavit (sworn legal document) with the courts this week, where she testified why she supports the policy.
In her affidavit, Alfone said when a Middletown student is referred for counseling, the parents are notified. However, if the counseling is needed for gender issues, currently, the district has to hide this from parents.
“Reasons such as anxiety and depression are utilized versus gender dysphoria or other reasons that divulge the whole truth,” the superintendent testified in her affidavit. “This places counseling staff in a compromised position, where they are faced with knowingly omitting information necessary for the treatment of the student.”
Also, whenever there was a bullying complaint in the past few years, the district had to hide from the parent if gender issues were involved in the bullying, said the superintendent.
In another instance in the past year, she said an elementary student officially changed his or her name on school records, and when standardized test scores were sent home to the parents there was a different child’s name on the test results — and the parents had no idea.
“In other words, the district was required to send a student report to a parent with a name which the state advises should be kept confidential from the parents,” wrote Board lawyer Padula.
Middletown’s controversial transgender student policy was born out of the policy committee, on which Board members Frank Capone, Jacqueline Tobacco, Kate Farley and Gary Tulp sit.
“The policy committee became aware that administration was tasked with changing names on tests going home to parents,” said Tobacco. “We started to ask questions regarding liability, and how these guidelines affected other laws like HIB and referrals for mental health services: They all require full parent disclosure.”
On Aug. 15, Monmouth County County Superior Court Judge David Bauman, nominated by Gov. Jon Corzine, will hear arguments from lawyers with the Attorney General and the Middletown school board. (Middletown’s lawyers successfully had the state’s lawsuit moved out of Essex County onto friendlier turf in Monmouth.)
On Aug. 15, Hon. Bauman will decide if a temporary injunction placed on Middletown schools will be lifted.
Right now, that injunction prevents the district from implementing its transgender policy when school begins again in September.
Click Here: Kanken Rainbow Backpack
Judge Bauman may even dismiss the AG’s lawsuit against Middletown altogether on that date.
NJ Sues Middletown, 2 Other Districts For Transgender Student Policies (June 22)
NJ Vs. Middletown Transgender Legal Battle Moved To Monmouth County (June 28)
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.