Trans students in New Jersey are under attack from a covert group of conservative ‘parental rights’ advocates, repealing safety measures for trans students.

An evil storm has been brewing across New Jersey this past year. Fanned by the flames of ugly Ron DeSantis, hate, bigotry, and the evil group Moms For Liberty, many school districts have targeted and repealed Policy 5756. This policy, which was put into place by Republican Chris Christie years ago, helps trans children change their gender identity without automatic parental contact. This was put into place to protect students who may not feel safe coming out at home and want to take their time figuring out who they are. But because of the actions of Freehold Township Board of Ed members, the safety to come out at school without one’s parents knowing is now an impossibility. Instead, punitive measures are to be taken for teachers who don’t report students who request a transition of pronouns, putting teachers and allies in precarious situations.

I’ve been to several school board meetings on this issue and it always gets everyone in a tizzy. People really love to let their transphobia shine when they get up to the microphone in the middle school auditorium. One person compared being gay and trans to having an illness - and she was on the school board! My friends and I were sitting in the back, dumbfounded that this oxygen-needing octogenarian is under the impression that being queer is an ailment meant to be fixed.

Trans Rights Are Human Rights

I did see a wholesome turnout of allies and members of the queer community, including several trans folks who ALL advocated against this policy. Statistics were read, including that only five students had requested a pronoun change in the last several years. Exemplifying that this is a movement to make the hetero-masses feel comfortable and give parents unfiltered control over their child’s development. So many parents on the bad side kept saying ‘I deserve to know EVERYTHING my child is doing’ without a thought. Maybe trust your child to develop at their own pace? Create an environment where they feel safe talking to you. Former Principal of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dianne Brethauer, advocated to fully access your child’s phone to monitor everything from Snapchat to websites searched to messages sent. Not only is this psycho mom behavior, but (as someone who’s admittedly more kid than parent) I would resent my mom so much if she made me do that! Is invading someone’s space the best way to keep people safe, Diane? I don’t think so.

There are a lot of issues to address. These school board meetings often don’t have open microphone sections, meaning folks just sit there and watch the dumb-dumb board decide the fates of people they don’t even see as human. I legit went to a meeting for almost three hours, forced to just listen to the board members ask leading questions to insinuate trans people are menacing. They debated back and forth, asking questions that were so baseless and didn’t ask for feedback from the very frustrated crowd. People are scared to go on record saying they want to strip away trans rights, but they’ll vote them away with a grin. It’s actually sick.

Sometimes these events have a microphone and an open comment section. From lie-filled stories about keeping children safe and lackluster mental gymnastics to justify the forced outing of children, the opposition loves to speak up and out. On the good side, parents and others (like me!) were able to go up and speak our minds too. I spoke up at two board meetings and basically just called them all transphobic bigots. Educating the suburban housewives who navigate their TVs between Fox News and yelling at their kids for not being straight enough.

I love my town Freehold and I went here for K-12. Bruce Springsteen is from here, the area was great to grow up in. But now I recognize the bigots in our town, the power they’re desperate to hold, and the lengths they’ll go to appease loud transphobes at the expense of innocent trans children. I would never raise a family here because a majority of the local school board doesn’t value trans people.

No Support From Schools

With this policy repealed, trans students are even more at risk of depression, anxiety, suicide, or other consequences from forced outings. Be supportive of young queer folks, lend your ear when they ask for help, and be the gay guide you wish you had. Unfortunately, the schools are not a safe place for the LGBTQIA+ community, and that’s because members of many local school boards are transphobic cowards. Remember to vote if you can and go to these meetings to advocate for queer youth! And if you’re interested in getting involved, follow @saygaynj. And if you’re a queer person feeling unsupported, consider using sources like The Trevor Project to receive the education Freehold is failing to provide you.

It’s so important to note that basically every school that voted to repeal this policy was immediately sued by the State Attorney General. Not only is this legally discrimination and emotionally taxing, but it’ll cost our district money. Lawsuits like this cost lawyers, time, and are just going to drag trans kids down with it. In their actions, Republicans are saying that the number one thing schools need is to make trans students uncomfortable. Nothing about safety from the uptick in school shootings, or falling test scores from COVID. Just funneling millions of dollars to convince local school boards to turn their backs on trans kids. And congratulations Freehold - you fell for it.

I don’t blame the teachers. I blame the board of education who championed this vote to take away the rights of a non-threatening group of children.

Still not sure who voted to repeal yet, but some of these people are bad! Michelle Lambert, Michael Amoroso, Renata Brand, Mary Cozzolino, Neil Garguilo, Elena O'Sullivan, Meg Thomann, Kerry Vendittoli - we will not forget!