Sex Ed And Frog Dissection: NJ Senators Pursue 'Parents Bill Of Rights'

NEW JERSEY — Parents in New Jersey can opt their children out of frog dissection and sexual education. But in the midst of the state updating its sex-ed curriculum, two state senators believe parents should have more of a say in what their kids learn.

Sens. Kristin Corrado and Anthony M. Bucco introduced a "Parental Bill of Rights." The legislation is designed to give parents more information about what their children will learn in school and expand their power to "exclude their children from lessons that conflict with their values," Corrado said.

Current New Jersey laws allow parents or guardians to not enroll their child in “health, family life education or sex education” by signing a statement that the instruction conflicts with their conscience or sincerely held religious beliefs. On the top of dissection, any student “may refuse to dissect, vivisect, incubate, capture or otherwise harm or destroy animals or any parts thereof as part of a course of instruction.”

But the legislation from Corrado and Bucco — both Republicans — would expand the ability to opt children out of other lessons, such as those about gender identity or sexual orientation.

The state Board of Education approved the new standards for sexual education at a public meeting in June 2020. But they've been under fire on and off since the spring of 2021. The state delayed implementation of the standards for the fall of 2021, because districts around the state were still consumed with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The opposition to the sex education standards intensified in early April when copies of a sample lesson plan distributed to parents in the Westfield school district were highlighted and vilified by national media outlets as being inappropriate. Westfield had not adopted the lesson plan as part of its curriculum, school district officials said.

The resulting firestorm led Gov. Phil Murphy to order the Department of Education to take another look at the standards.

New Jersey's acting commissioner of education re-affirmed her support for the curriculum last week, saying that political campaigns have weaponized them in recent weeks.

"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, said Acting Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan. 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

School curriculums pertaining to race, gender identity and sexual orientation have been lightning rods in school board meetings and political campaigns nationwide. But State Sen. Vin Gopal, a Democrat, said parents have the right to greater transparency in their child's education.

“Because we have seen professional political operatives and politicians purposely spread misinformation and false claims that cause concern for well-meaning parents, it is important to put the 'Transparency in Health & Sex Education Curriculum Act' into law,” Gopal said. "Parents should be empowered with all the information they need to make decisions for their children."

Gopal's bill would provide parents and guardians with opportunities to review any education material on any subject.