New Jersey Parents Sue District Over Policy Keeping Gender Transitions From Families
Moms for Liberty and two anonymous parents of elementary school aged daughters filed a federal lawsuit on August 28 against the School District of the Chathams in New Jersey, challenging a policy that lets school counselors decide whether and how much to tell parents when a student socially transitions to a different gender at school. The complaint, filed by the Thomas More Society, also challenges provisions allowing mixed sex participation in sports and facilities without parental notice and requiring staff to use a student's chosen name and pronouns. The district adopted the policy before the Supreme Court's March ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, which found a similar California policy likely violated parents' constitutional rights.
Thomas More Society senior counsel Christopher Ferrara said any school board that keeps hiding a child's gender transition from parents should be held accountable, and Moms for Liberty CEO Tina Descovich said parents, not school boards, are children's primary educators and caregivers. School board president Ann Ciccarelli has said the Mirabelli ruling is not binding on New Jersey districts, a position the lawsuit disputes. The suit asks the court to declare the policy unconstitutional and require parental notice before any social transition, name change, or change in facility use.
