GOP Attacks On NJ Teachers Ramp Up With New Sex Ed Curriculum Set To Begin

NEW JERSEY — With New Jersey's new curriculum for health and sexual education set to go into effect this school year, state Republicans ramped up their focus on the lightning-rod issue. The GOP's latest attack on the educational standards came in the form of a "parody ad," which leadership from the state's largest teacher's union called "a blatant lie."

The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) released two advertisements earlier this month defending the new curriculum standards — some of which Republican politicians and a portion of parents have deemed not age-appropriate for children. The NJEA has claimed the new curriculum has been misrepresented.

"We don't agree on everything in New Jersey, but we all agree that our kids deserve a world-class education," one of the NJEA's videos says. "So when extremists start attacking our schools to drive a wedge between us, we take it personally, because that's not who we are. We're parents, teachers, neighbors and friends who all want the same thing: great schools where our students can learn and grow. People who only want to fight and argue to score political points should take that somewhere else."

Watch the NJEA's videos below:

State officials approved the educational standards in 2020, but statewide furor erupted over the mandates in late March, fueled by items pulled from sample curriculum materials that are not in use in New Jersey's schools and have not been adopted by any school districts in the state. (While New Jersey schools must adhere to the standards, parents can opt their children out of the lessons.)

Parents and members of the public have expressed anger over the new standards at school board meetings throughout the state in recent months. With school around the corner, State Senate Republicans held a hearing Tuesday on sex education, the educational mandates and "parental rights."

The Assembly Republican Office, meanwhile, released a "parody ad" Wednesday attacking the NJEA's recent commercials. The Assembly GOP's video used much of the same footage as the NJEA ads, but a voiceover stated the following: "Stop resisting our agenda and accept that you have no control over your children’s education. To all the radical extremist parents out there, back off. We are the NJEA,” reads the spoofed voice-over."

The Assembly GOP's video is no longer available because of a copyright claim from the NJEA, but it remains available on Facebook as of 3 p.m. Tuesday:

Republican leaders in New Jersey have taken issue with the "radical extremist" label — despite some of the party's legislators labeling the curriculum part of "the increasingly radical agenda of leftist educators and administrators" and an attempt to "radicalize the education of New Jersey children."

Following the ad, NJEA leadership defended the curriculum standards. Union spokesperson Steve Baker called the GOP's video "a blatant lie."

"Both of the ads are clear that parents are important partners in creating great schools," Baker told Patch via email. "Parents are never referred to in any negative or critical way. We know that without supportive, involved parents, it is much more difficult to achieve the positive outcomes we all want for our students. We have great respect for the important role that parents play in the success of our students and schools. It’s unfortunate that the Assembly Republicans, who claim to stand with parents are actually lying to parents."

So, who are the extremists in the NJEA's view?

"We are very concerned by the small but very loud group of people who are doing dishonest and dangerous things," Baker said, "like calling educators pedophiles and racists simply because those educators are teaching appropriate in accordance with the state’s approved, age-appropriate standards. ... Those kinds of irresponsible false accusations are extremism. Book banning is extremism. Censoring how history and science it taught is extremism. You know that. I know that. Parents know that. And the Assembly Republicans know that."

Labels aside, parents throughout New Jersey have raised concerns at the local and state levels about the curriculum changes. A pediatrician also spoke against the new standards of teaching children about sexuality and gender identity — Dr. Meg Meeker, who authors books on parenting from a Christian perspective and introduced the widely discredited concept of "rainbow parties."

"You’re introducing concepts around gender and gender identity that are ... traumatizing to a child," Meeker said at the hearing. "It makes the child doubt their ability to reason and this sticks with them for life."

The Mayo Clinic, however, says children typically begin understanding gender concepts at between 18 and 24 months, while most categorize their own gender by age 3. At ages 5 and 6, most children are rigid about gender preferences, but those feels typically become flexible with age, according to the Mayo Clinic.

New Jersey's "social and sexual health" curriculum for Grades K-2 focuses on concepts such as how individuals make their own choices to express themselves, describing healthy relationships within families and learning healthy ways to express feelings.

But the controversy over the new standards prompted Gov. Phil Murphy to order the New Jersey Board of Education to revisit the curriculum in April. State Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan re-affirmed the standards the following month, saying they "are structured around three areas: personal and mental health, physical wellness and safety."

"Providing knowledge is necessary for students to make safe, informed decisions at the high school level," and to protect them from social pressures and dating violence, she said. Students need to be able to "communicate clearly when their trust and privacy has been violated." Read more: NJ Education Commissioner Defends New Sex Ed Standards