New Rules May Impact NJ Sex Education Classes

The new school year is officially underway, and with it, another controversary pitting the government against parents.

At issue, is a new rule enacted in August by the New Jersey Board of Education.  One of the new rules states that if a school teaches sex education, and divides the class by boys and girls, they must divide the class by gender "identity."

That means that if a boy says he identifies as a girl, he would be put in the girl class, and vice-versa.

The rule is part of a rewrite of administrative rules the govern equity in New Jersey schools.  The changes include replacing the words "men" and "women" with "persons."

The New Jersey Board of Education drew nearly 900 comments on the issue, and it's clear that this isn't going over well with parents.

In Barnegat Township, the local school board has spoken out against these new rules.

Committeeman Alfonso Cirulli, is quoted in an article on patch.com,

The current New Jersey Board of Education's disruptive amendments will create an adversarial relationship between child and parent, parent and teacher, potentially fueling a dangerous and life-threatening environment...

Committeeman Al Bille who was quoted in the same article, urged the local board to take a stand, saying,

Are we to hide behind our doors and let Murphy and Trenton tell us how to raise our children? Or do we send a message to Trenton that our children are our children, period.

One thing is clear, regardless of where your views fall, now, more than ever, parents need to be active in their local school board.

Proposed Readoption with Amendments at N.J.A.C. 6A:7, Managing for Equality and Equity in Education (nj.gov)

Barnegat Officials Take Stand Against New School Gender Equity Rules | Barnegat, NJ Patch