NJ Schools Point to State Guidelines as Excuse to Allow Boys in Girls’ Locker Rooms

Jean Ballard protests Fairfax County school board’s pro-transgender policy outside of the Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., on June 16, 2022. Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

New Jersey’s Department of Education (NJDOE) has issued guidelines instructing schools to be “supportive” of gender transition and to let transgender-identifying students use opposite-sex locker rooms and wear opposite-sex clothing at school.

Moreover, a child’s choice to change gender should remain secret from parents if the child wants, the guidelines say.

“There is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression,” the guidelines say.

All these radical recommendations are only guidelines, according to Daniel, a Mantua Township parent who asked to withhold his last name out of fear of retaliation.

An LGBT "safe zone" banner in Long Valley Middle School in Long Valley, New Jersey. Courtesy of John Holly

Even so, schools told parents that the “guidelines” are the law of the land.

“The board attorney said, ‘This is law from the state. We have to follow it,’” Daniel said of the district board’s views on the matter. “They just keep lying to the parents of the district.”

New Jersey law demands that schools call transgender-identifying students by their preferred names and pronouns, let transgender-identifying students dress as the opposite sex, not force transgender-identifying students to use the locker room of their birth sex, and “create an appropriate confidentiality plan” for students.

But the law doesn’t demand that schools put transgender-identifying students in opposite-sex bathrooms or hide students’ transgenderism from their parents.

This arrangement allows local schools to secretly promote radical gender ideology without parents ever getting a say, Daniel said.

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He said that parents have attempted to fight this issue at many meetings with Mantua Township’s school board.

“The superintendent would just keep telling us, ‘This is not an open dialogue. I will not discuss this with you,’” he said. “That’s been going on for the last two years.”

Already, the guidelines have exposed children as young as second grade to transgender influence, Daniel added.

“[My daughter] comes home and she tells me every day, ‘There’s a boy that wears a dress in the school,’” he said. “If that kid wanted to, he could go to the bathroom with my daughter.”

No Parental Consent Required

The NJDOE’s transgender guidelines, titled “Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts,” make a few references to law.

They say that under law, it’s unlawful to discriminate based on gender identity.

The law also requires the department to establish guidelines “to provide direction for schools in addressing common issues concerning the needs of transgender students, and to assist schools in establishing policies and procedures that ensure a supportive and nondiscriminatory environment for transgender students.”

Then, the guidance defines many radical gender ideology terms, including “gender identity,” “transition,” “transgender,” “gender expansive,” “gender diverse,” “gender fluid,” “gender nonbinary,” and many others.

“It is recommended that school personnel discuss with the student the terminology and pronouns each student has chosen,” it says.

Although schools should discuss radical gender terms with children, they shouldn’t talk with parents, the guidance adds. Parental consent to a child’s gender transition isn’t even required.

A sign outside restrooms in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 13, 2023, seems to indicate that women and men should use separate facilities. Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times

Without parental knowledge, schools should let students wear opposite-sex clothes, reject their birth names, use opposite-sex bathrooms, and change in opposite-sex locker rooms. All these changes can happen without any medical diagnosis or legal decision, the guidance adds.

“A student need not meet any threshold diagnosis or treatment requirements to have his or her gender identity recognized and respected by the district, school or school personnel. Nor is a legal or court-ordered name change required,” it reads.

If a school has to disclose a student’s transgender identity, school districts should use counselors to make families accept the student’s choice, the guidance reads.

The counselors should “facilitate the family’s acceptance and support of the student’s transgender status,” according to the document.

Potential for Abuse

Daniel said this policy doesn’t just threaten the rights of parents regarding their children, but also leaves loopholes for sexual assault and abuse.

Under this policy, if a teenage boy wants to watch his female classmates change for gym, he need only say he identifies as a woman today.

“They don’t have a single answer on how to prevent something like that from happening,” he said. “There’s nothing more drastic than having a 15-year-old kid going through puberty with hormones walking into a girl’s bathroom and showering next to them. Because what if they have ill intentions like we saw in Virginia?”

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Hundreds rallied to protest against Loudoun County Public Schools adopting the Virginia Department of Education's 2021 transgender student model policies outside the Loudoun County Public Schools administration building in Ashburn, Va., on Sept. 28, 2021. Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

In May 2021, in Loudon County, Virginia, a boy in a skirt raped a girl in a school’s women’s bathroom, as previously reported.

Under this system, parents have no way to stop a boy from changing in the girls’ locker room, he said. The best they can do is ask for a separate changing room for their child.

“All students are entitled to have access to restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities in accordance with their gender identity to allow for involvement in various school programs and activities,” the guidance reads.

It later adds, “Non-transgender students should also be afforded the option to use a private facility, such as a unisex facility or the nurse’s restroom, should they feel uncomfortable.”

Statutes or Suggestions?

When Daniel contacted Mantua Township School District, they told him in a letter that they had to follow the guidance from the NJDOE. He provided the letter to The Epoch Times.

“The New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) guidance not only requires that transgender students be afforded access to restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, but also guarantees access to a unisex or single stall restroom, depending on the student’s preference,” Mantua’s letter reads.

The same letter also claimed that the school planned to follow the law by secretly using a different name for a child during school hours.

“Even if parents are aware and object to a student’s chosen name and pronouns, the District is still legally obligated to use the name, pronouns, and gender identity expressed by the student,” the district’s letter reads.

A little boy reaches for candy from the Chattanooga Pride parade in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Oct. 2, 2022. Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times

The letter linked this policy to the NJDOE’s guidance.

“The guidance from the NJDOE has directed school districts to maintain a ’student-centered' approach,” the letter states.

When Daniel contacted the NJDOE, it told him by email that the “Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts” document was only a recommendation. Daniel also provided this email to the Epoch Times.

“Though the NJDOE was glad to provide guidance to schools on this topic, please note that local school districts adopt their own policies,” it reads.

The email states that “the document in its entirety is not a requirement.”

The Epoch Times contacted the NJDOE and Mantua Township School District, but neither commented.