In a recent development, a parent has initiated a lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Education and the Cherry Hill Board of Education, raising concerns about policies that, they argue, encourage secrecy and hinder parents from gaining insights into their children’s gender identities. Attorney Thomas Stavola Jr. shared this news in a press release earlier this month.
The parent, who is identified as Frederick K. Short Jr., asserts that the transgender guidance issued by the New Jersey Department of Education, which was subsequently adopted as policy by Cherry Hill Schools, infringes upon their Fourteenth Amendment rights.
According to the lawsuit, the policy mandates that schools keep students’ gender identities and any transitioning or transgender status confidential from their parents. Furthermore, it asserts that schools are not obligated to inform parents about these significant matters.
This policy prompts school staff to engage in private conversations with students about their gender identity, preferred names, pronouns, and how they wish to communicate with their parents. This effectively grants students the final say in whether their parents become aware of their gender identity. According to Stavola Jr., this contravenes Short’s Fourteenth Amendment rights, which encompass the authority to direct the care, upbringing, and medical decisions of his children.
Stavola Jr. contends that as gender identity transitions typically require parental involvement to ensure a child’s needs are met through professional support, the state’s and district’s policy lacks provisions for this essential parental role and, as a result, excludes parents from meaningful participation in gender identity discussions.
The lawsuit seeks to challenge the guidance issued by the state’s Department of Education and Cherry Hill Schools. It aims to have the policies annulled or, at the very least, revised to include provisions that ensure parents are notified and that consent is obtained regarding any expression of gender identity changes.
In Short’s own words, “I am being denied my right as a parent to participate in my children’s lives on topics as important and fundamental as what they call themselves and what gender they choose. The school is encouraging my children to deceive me and to live double lives of secrecy by blocking this information from my wife and me.”
Short further contends that the policy unfairly presumes that he is an unsupportive parent, asserting that when schools instruct students to hide their identities from their parents, it implies that parents will not accept their children’s identities. He raises concerns about the potential impact of this deception on other aspects of their children’s lives.
Patch reached out to the Office of the Attorney General, the State Department of Education, and Cherry Hill Public Schools for comments on this ongoing legal matter. All three entities have cited their inability to comment on pending litigation.
