Middletown BOE Head Capone: Murphy Has Zero Care For Parental Rights

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Frank Capone, president of the Middletown Board of Education, wrote the following opinion piece this week, in which he explained why the Middletown school board, under his direction, is fighting the state of New Jersey and Gov. Phil Murphy when it comes to transgender kids and teens.

On June 20, the Middletown school board approved its new transgender policy in an 8-1 vote; only Board member Deb Wright voted against it.

Both Capone and his ally, Middletown BOE vice president Jacqueline Tobacco are running for re-election this year. This op-ed was first published in Central Jersey Newswire, which invited Capone to write an op-ed. Capone agreed to let Patch re-publish it.

Writes Capone:

"Long before I was afforded the title of President of the Middletown Board of Education, I was blessed to be given the most important and cherished title that I hold closest to my heart: Dad.

My name is Frank Capone, and I am the father of 5 children who are part of the Middletown public school system. Like many of you who may read this op-ed, I was insanely frustrated in 2020 with the prospect of having no say in the failed experiment we now know as virtual school. With no end in sight and a board of education leadership that seemed quite content, I— along with my good friend Jacqueline Tobacco—decided to run for the Board to get our schools back to in-person learning.

The last three years have been very sobering for me as a board member. If you put the interests of the children first, all should work out. This would be true if we weren't led by an administration in Trenton that cares far more for special interests and political agendas than putting children first.

We are blessed with a Governor who mandates rules (oftentimes to meet his radical political agenda) via guidance and executive orders without any legislative law.

From masks to radically progressive sexual education mandates starting in early elementary to what a parent can and can't know that a teacher can, the current administration has zero care for parental rights. They trample parental rights under the guise of "they are all of our children."

That's a bunch of bull.

Nobody knows what's best for their child better than their parents. The state is trying to systematically dismantle that sacred bond we have at home. We cannot let that happen.

Parental rights are under attack, and it's only going to get worse. As parents, we must continue to run for Boards of Education and support those candidates who are parental rights advocates. Nobody will ever be a better advocate for your child than you. Try as they may, the Governor and his administration will never be Mom or Dad to your child.

They just need a constant reminder."

Frank Capone is a proud father and the President of the Middletown Board of Education. The opinions expressed in this editorial are his own.

The backstory:

The Middletown school district, along with Marlboro, Manalapan-Englishtown and Hanover Twp. in Morris County, are the four NJ school districts that were sued this year by the state for defying the NJ Department of Education's protocol on how to deal with transgender students.

The state Department of Education has a policy that does not require teachers inform parents if a child is transgender in school, or wants to go by a different name, pronoun or use a different bathroom or locker room.

However, all four of these districts passed versions of policies that require teachers inform parents if their child uses a new name, gender or pronoun in school.

NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin says what the districts are proposing is illegal under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, a broadly interpreted law that protects various groups determined by race, ethnicity, gender orientation and sexual preference.

All four of those are Republican-majority towns.

Platkin argues that telling parents their child is transgender "threatens the health and safety of our young people ... Without question, the discriminatory policies passed by these Boards of Education, if allowed to go into effect, will harm our kids and pose a severe risk to their safety."

A Superior Court hearing on the state's lawsuit against Middletown is scheduled for Aug. 15, with lawyers from both the Middletown school district and the Attorney General arguing their sides.

Stay tuned to Aug. 15.