Middletown Mulls Parent Notification Policy For Transgender Students

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — At their next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday night, June 20, the Middletown school board will vote on this major change in district policy regarding transgender students.

The Middletown school board is attempting to require teachers notify parents if their child wants to publicly be known by a different name or pronoun; if a child seeks to use a different bathroom or locker room than their gender at birth, or if a child seeks to play on a different sports team.

What the Middletown school district is attempting appears to be at conflict with current education standards from the NJ Department of Education's Transgender Student Guidance, issued in 2018: Currently, school districts in New Jersey must accept a student's preferred gender identity and pronouns without notifying their parents.

Middletown appears to be trying something similar, but not exactly the same, as what Hanover Twp. schools tried to do earlier this spring:

Hanover (in Morris County) tried to require teachers disclose to parents the gender identity and sexual orientation of students.

In May, the Hanover school district was sued by the Attorney General. NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Gov. Murphy-appointee, said in this statement that what Hanover schools attempted was equal to "outing" LGBTQ+ teens and youth to their parents, and exposed them to risk of severe physical and mental harm — especially if parents disagree with the child's choices.

Hanover school district countered that they are protecting parents' rights and familial privacy.

At first, the district said it would vigorously defend itself, but as of June 6 the district has rewritten its policy, after Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz asked both parties to come to an agreement on policy revisions while he deliberated the legality of what Hanover attempted.

It remains to be seen how Middletown's transgender policy changes — should they be adopted by the board — will be received.

You can read Middletown's proposed policy change here: https://www.middletownk12.org/...

The following is directly from the transgender policy Middletown is attempting to rewrite:

"There is no affirmative duty for any school district staff member to notify a student’s parent of the student’s gender identity or expression." (It has been crossed out by the district.)

The new policy reads in part:

"The Board finds that conversations with counselors, teachers or other staff about one’s gender identity and expression are entitled to confidentiality. However, in the event a student requests a public social transition accommodation, such as public name/identity/pronoun change, bathroom/locker room accommodation, or club/sports accommodations, or the like, the school district shall notify a student’s parents or guardian of the student’s asserted gender identity and/or name change, or other requested accommodation, provided there is no documented evidence that doing so would subject the student to physical or emotional harm or abuse. It shall be the policy of the Board to support and facilitate healthy communication between a transgender student and their family, rather than foster an unreasonable expectation that a public in-school transition will remain confidential or require district staff to affirmatively misrepresent information to parents."

The proposal will be up for its first public vote at the Tuesday night meeting.

Multiple Middletown school board members declined to speak on the record about this, and declined to answer when Patch asked how they will vote Tuesday night.

Middletown BOE President Frank Capone ignored our requests for information about the proposed policy change, and vice president Jacqueline Tobacco declined to comment.

One Middletown school board member, who did not want to be quoted, said he heard pro-LGBTQ+ activists will attend the Tuesday night Board of Education meeting.