Meet up Sept 6th at 1PM

Stand up with NJStandsUP

PRESS RELEASE FROM NJSTANDSUP

New Jersey’s Parental Choice Advocacy Effort

For Immediate Release

Contact: info@njstandsup.org

Trenton: Several of NJ Parental Choice advocacy organizations (UnMask NJ Students, NJStandsUp, NJ Family Policy Center, The New Jersey Project, and AriseNJ), medical doctors, and legal experts are uniting to support parental rights and the mental health, safety and equality of all students at the NJ State Board of Education (State BOE) meeting on September 6th at 1:00 pm. Outraged parents will be addressing their concerns regarding the State BOE’s controversial policy vote on N.J.A.C. 6A:7, known as Chapter 7, which erases biological sex, eliminates the terms “male” and “female”, replaces gender specific sports teams with gender identity preference, and replaces the term “equality” with “equity” in every aspect of public education.

“NJStandsUp has partnered with several parental choice organizations to bring together a united effort to call out the nonsensical purpose of this Equity Policy that will only bring harm to children, add confusion to their development, and in a few short years bring devastating results to the state of New Jersey socially and economically. We are calling for the State BOE to repeal these changes.” says Hilary Jersey, a leader with NJStandsUp.

Prior to last month’s close 6-5 State BOE vote, there was bipartisan opposition among NJ legislators arguing that the Department of Education’s change to the “Managing for Equality and Equity in Education” policy was overreaching. The legislators believe it is the lawmakers, elected by their constituents, who have the authority to make such sweeping policy changes to the policy, not the State BOE, a body appointed by the Governor and not elected by the people of New Jersey. “It is unfortunate that the State Board of Education doesn’t coordinate with policymakers before they take actions that may affect school districts throughout our state. We expected better communication with them,” Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) said in a joint statement. “We believe that families should have a voice in what is taught to their children, and as long as we have a say over the matter, they will continue to,” they said.

Concurring with their Democrat lawmakers, 16 GOP state legislators claimed the State BOE doesn’t have the statutory authority to bypass the legislature, and they added, “Deleting words, replacing words, and forcing a one size fits all ‘equity’ into every public school district is clearly not what is best for any school district, nor any student.” State Senators Anthony Bucco and Michael Testa chimed in further, stating that the State Board of Education is focused more on advancing identity politics than building stronger relationships between parents and teachers. "All kids deserve the opportunity to succeed in and out of the classroom, but the best way to ensure this success is by bringing parents, teachers, and local school administrators together, not by driving a wedge between them. Bucco further noted that "Students are falling behind from pandemic-related learning loss, and instead of prioritizing reading, writing, and math, the State Board is infusing progressive identity politics into the classroom. Parents are rightfully concerned about what's being taught to their children and deserve to have a voice in their local school communities. We do not need government bureaucrats substituting on their behalf."

Furthering the opposition, Dr. Jane Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, wrote a stern letter on behalf of the organization, directly to NJ State BOE members. The letter states the policy changes are “anti-scientific” and “attempt to redefine and even erase the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’.” She further cautioned, “Public schooling is the right of all citizen taxpayers, who are mandated to fund it. Schools are necessary to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. They have expanded to biology and other sciences. They have no mandate to teach fluid, ever changing, social multi-influential societal constructs or political missions, especially to parental dependent minors.”

With state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, respected members of the medical community, parents and concerned citizens all on board, parental choice advocacy organizations are urging the public to show up and demand the State Board of Education rescind their controversial and overreaching policy vote on N.J.A.C. 6A:7, (Chapter 7) on Wednesday, September 6th at 1:00 at the Department of Education Building at 100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton, NJ.