Health Curriculum Opt-Out Form Divides Bernards Township School Board

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The district's health and sex education curriculum continues to divide Bernards Township school board members.

During Monday night's Board of Education(BOE) meeting, a lengthy discussion was held over what should be included in the curriculum opt-out form that will be sent home to parents this fall at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

Superintendent Nick Markarian asked if the introductory paragraph on the form should list all of the standards in the curriculum and leave it up to parents to read through it or highlight 12 standards that were of concern to some Board members.

Board Vice President Nimish Amin suggested the intro state something similar to, " 'Anyone can opt out of any part of this curriculum however the following 12 items were highlighted as potentially being more sensitive than the other items.' And letting [parents] decide what they want to do."

The 12 standards or topics were listed as areas of concern by Board President Keith Molinari at the March 1 BOE meeting. Those standards included:

Grades K-2

• 2.1.2.PGD.5: List medically accurate names for body parts, including the genitals.
• 2.1.2.PP.1: Define reproduction.
• 2.1.2.SSH.2: Discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.

Grades 3-5

• 2.1.5.PGD.4: Explain common human sexual development and the role of hormones (e.g., romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, timing of pubertal onset)
• 2.1.5.SSH.1: Describe gender role stereotypes and their potential impact on self and others.
• 2.1.5.SSH.2: Differentiate between sexual orientation and gender identity.

Grades 6-8

• 2.1.8.PP.1: Describe pregnancy, the signs of pregnancy and pregnancy options, including parenting, abortion and adoption.
• 2.1.8.SSH.1: Differentiate between gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
• 2.1.8.SSH.2: Develop a plan for the school to promote dignity and respect for all genders, gender identities, gender expressions and sexual orientations in the school community.
• 2.1.8.SSH.7: Identity factors that are important in deciding whether and when to engage in sexual behaviors.
• 2.1.8.SSH.9: Define vaginal, oral and anal sex.
• 2.1.8.CHSS.3: Identify the state and federal laws related to minors’ access to sexual healthcare services, including pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment.

The board members who agreed with Molinari at the March meeting were Nimish Amin, Csilla Csipak, and Lawrence Rascio. All of which were recently elected this past November.

Board member Timothy Salmon disagreed with Amin's suggestion on Monday night saying there should be a cover letter sent out at the beginning of the year with a link to curriculum materials.

"Then link to the opt-out form. Then parents can go in and pick a lesson they feel they want their student to opt-out from," said Salmon.

Board member Jennifer White suggested keeping the letter "as simple as possible, less is more."

She added that the letter already spells out the curriculum very clearly by highlighting the length of the lesson, when the lesson is taking place, and the language that is going to be used in the lesson.

"I feel like to put our own personal bias and say these are the 12. They are not the 12, they may be some of your 12. But they are not the community's 12," said White. "I don't think that statement needs to be there. I think it simply needs to be you may find some of these topics sensitive. Use your discretion. You know your children best. Let the parents make the decision for themselves."

Amin said he agreed with White and added that "All I am stating is let the community also know some of the items may be more sensitive than others."

Markarian suggested a compromise.

"We could identify the standards in the intro but not necessarily call them out on all of the opt out documents," said Markarian.

"If we identify these 12 as ultra-sensitive it's confusing," said Salmon who noted that parents can already look at everything in the curriculum.

Ultimately, the majority of board members present indicated they would prefer that the opt-out forms not highlight any particular standards.

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