The state Attorney General and acting Department of Education Commissioner on Monday encouraged schools, school boards and administrators to continue to implement initiatives to counter discrimination and to comply with the state’s anti-bias curriculum requirements regarding race, gender, LGBTQ+, disability and diversity in a joint statement issued by the two agencies.
The announcement from Attorney General Matt Platkin and acting DOE Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillian comes after AG’s office last week sued the Middletown Township, Marlboro Township and Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Boards of Education to prevent them from implementing controversial school policies requiring staff to notify parents when gender-nonconforming students wish to change their names, be called by new pronouns, or request other accommodations. In May, it sued the Hanover Township Board of Education, challenging a similar policy, which the district revised so it does not discriminate against LGBTQ students.
At the same time, tensions have flared across the state over book banning in the Hamilton Township School District, the display of Pride flags in the Westwood Regional School District and rainbow safe zone signs in Long Valley.
“Despite the New Jersey law against discrimination’s [LAD] anti-discrimination principles, some school boards and legislators have recently introduced proposals in New Jersey and across the country to restrict classroom discussions and staff training about race, racism, gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation; to remove symbols of signs that express support for, or oppose bullying of members of certain historically excluded groups and to ban books by and about people of color and LGBTQIA+ people,” the statement read.
“In New Jersey, the law is clear. The LAD prohibits schools from adopting policies or practices that discriminate against students or staff based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or other protected characteristics, whether or not motivated by discriminatory intent,” the statement read. “The LAD also prohibits policies or practices that create a hostile environment based on any protected characteristic.”
The statement cited examples of unlawful practices, including:
- Removing books or symbols—such as posters, flags, and stickers—merely because they represent a historically excluded group. This became an issue at a May Hamilton Township school board meeting as board members and the community debated the ban of six LGBTQIA+ related books and the state’s transgender policy.
- Removing posters supporting the LGBTQIA+ community from school grounds but not removing other types of posters.
- It also said banning all flags and symbolic speech may be discriminatory if adopted with to he send a message of opposition to or exclusion of Black students, other students of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, or any other member of a protected class.
The statement did not address concerns about parental notification for gender non-conforming students.
Still, Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, an LGBTQ education and advocacy group, said he applauds Platkin and Allen-McMillan for issuing a statement of hope.
“This statement is in line with the lived equality impact that the Law Against Discrimination plays in people’s daily lives,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are those actively working against lived equality by passing policies and using anit-LGBTQIA+ language that leads young people to believe that the law isn’t in their favor.”
“So this is a welcomed reminder that the law is on the side of justice and equality,” he added.
The state Department of Education’s Transgender Student Guidance requires schools to ensure a safe and supportive environment for transgender students under state and federal law and has no requirement for parental notification.
So far, the Attorney General’s Office has filed administrative civil rights complaints against the four schools over parental notification policies. The state Division of Civil Rights also has sought temporary restraints and preliminary injunctions from the state Superior Court to prohibit the boards from implementing the policies while the DCR adjudicates the complaints, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
In the joint statement, the officials urged members of the public to report discrimination, saying, “The Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Education encourage students, caretakers, community members, staff, and school board members to report evidence of discrimination, bias-based harassment, or retaliation to the Division on Civil Rights [DCR] immediately.”
To alert DCR to a district that has or is considering a discriminatory policy, email schooldiscrimination@njcivilrights.gov. To learn more or file a complaint, go to NJCivilRights.gov or call 1.833.NJDCR4U.
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Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or Twitter @DeionRJohhnso