Middletown Sits Tight On Its Transgender Policy While Under Injunction

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Last Monday, Sept. 11, the Hanover Township school board — which, like Middletown, was sued this year for trying to pass a policy that required schools inform parents if a child is transgender — voted to simply not implement the state of New Jersey's transgender student Policy 5756 altogether.

The elected members of Hanover school board did this on the argument that the Department of Education's Policy 5756 is not mandatory:

Deputy NJ Attorney General James Michael said the policy was not mandatory during a Sept. 6 court hearing, the New York Post was first to report.

Now the big question remains, will the Middletown school board do the same and simply choose to not follow Policy 5756?

No, said Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco. She said Middletown remains under the injunction handed down by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Baumann on Aug. 19, and that the district will follow the court's order not to touch the policy until the matter is resolved in court.

"Middletown is under an injunction by the state not to repeal or amend the non-mandatory policy while we await our day in court in the Division of Civil Rights," Tobacco told Patch.

Last week, Middletown school board lawyer Bruce Padula filed an appeal of Judge Bauman's injunction.

Hanover made their decision at their Board meeting last Monday night. By Wednesday, Sept. 13 Attorney General Matt Platkin said by doing so, they were violating a restraining order placed on them by a Superior Court judge, ordering them not to touch the policy. Attorney General Platkin also demanded Hanover school board pay for the state's legal fees.

Tobacco said what the state's top lawyer — who was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy — is doing is deliberate "intimidation" of local school districts, especially by trying to get local New Jersey school districts to pay the state's legal bills.

"I think it's an intimidation factor to start demanding that boards of ed. use taxpayer money to pay the state's legal bills regarding the state's lawsuits that they are bringing," Tobacco told NJ 101.5 on Sept. 18.

Middletown, Manalapan-Englishtown and Marlboro were all placed under an injunction by Judge Bauman and all three will not proceed on making any changes to their transgender policies — for now.

However, Tobacco told the New York Post that she's speaking to as many as 18 to 20 other school districts across New Jersey "and they plan to simply repeal 5756" as Hanover did. Not telling what the legal pushback from the state of New Jersey will be.

She did not name which districts.

Colts Neck Board of Education has held off on passing a similar transgender policy due to fears of being sued by the state. Read that story: Colts Neck School Board Tables Vote On Trans Student Policy (June 28)