Reagan Reese on August 15, 2023
A mom is attempting to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General challenging a school board’s policy that notifies parents if their child is transgender, according to a press release from the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank.
Democratic AG Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit against the Marlboro Township Board of Education in June after the board moved to adopt a policy that would notify parents if their child wanted to transition genders, according to the press release. The Goldwater Institute filed a motion Monday on behalf of Angela Tycenski, a New Jersey parent, to intervene in the case in an effort to provide a parental rights perspective about the benefits of the policy, Adam Shelton, the lead attorney on the case, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The biggest thing is we bring a different focus to the case, representing a parent instead of the school,” Shelton told the DCNF. “We bring a parental rights focus to the case, while the school board and school district raise parental rights in the defense of the policy, but also argue that they need this policy in order to comply with the Constitution and that the policy advanced by the Attorney General violates the Constitution. We think parents are uniquely positioned to raise that right because it’s their right that’s going to be violated if an injunction is issued here. We are hoping that the judge really takes into consideration the arguments that we’re able to bring into this case and the larger context of parental rights that we are able to present to the judge as well.”
Along with the Marlboro Township Board of Education, Platkin sued Manalapan-Englishtown and Middletown school districts in June alleging that their adoption of a policy that notifies parents if their student is transgender violates New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination mandates that schools do not treat students differently based on their “gender identity and expression.”
The New Jersey Department of Education’s Transgender Student Guidance also requires school districts to “accept a student’s asserted gender identity” and states that “parental consent is not required” to allow the student to transition at school.
Platkin is seeking a temporary restraint ahead of the 2023-2024 school year that would restrict the three school districts from enforcing their policies.
“In New Jersey, we will not tolerate any action by schools that 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,” Platkin said in a June statement. “Simply put, these policies violate our laws, and we will not relent in protecting our LGBTQ+ community—especially our children—from discrimination.”
School boards throughout the country are adopting similar policies that would notify parents if their child is transgender; in a 3-2 vote, the Murrieta Valley School Board in California enacted such a policy on Aug. 10. Democratic California AG Rob Bonta opened an investigation into Chino Unified School District on Aug. 4 after the board voted to adopt a policy that requires educators to tell parents if their child wants to change their gender identity.
“As far as impact on the country, [this case] is really going to show that parents are going to continue to fight for their kids and to fight to be involved in the lives of their kids,” Shelton told the DCNF. “I’m going to fight to protect their constitutional rights to do that. I think it’s great that this district and a couple other school districts in New Jersey have adopted policies that require more fruitful involvement. I think that’s a key issue and a key thing is becoming more involved. As we go forward, hopefully more school boards will take the Constitutional rights of parents seriously.”
Platkin did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment
