In New Jersey, a battle ensues over trans students' rights, with presidential politics mixed in
LGBTQ advocates in Edison, New Jersey, are celebrating a school board vote last week that maintains the privacy of transgender students, but some say they don't expect that tally to end the issue, which became intertwined with presidential politics.
The 6-3 vote by the Edison Board of Education on Oct. 29 affirmed that students could identify as transgender in school without their parents being notified, reversing an earlier vote that would have stripped away the privacy protection. LGBTQ activists argued that parental notification could put transgender youth at risk of retaliation from parents, while opponents of the policy said it impeded parents' rights.
Aruna Rao, the Edison-based executive director of Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies, a national South Asian LGBTQ group, said Tuesday she was "thrilled" by the vote to maintain the policy, but said she expected conservative supporters would attempt to make further inroads on the issue locally. The vote came as Republican Donald Trump aired presidential campaign commercials opposing transgender rights.
"Trump is using it at the national level, invoking fear of trans people, and people on the ground certainly understand that it's an effective way to get people to pay attention," said Rao, who is the mother of a transgender child.
The policy stems from 2017, when former Gov. Chris Christie backed legislation meant to provide a more supportive environment for the state's transgender students. Since then, social conservative groups have fought to undo some of its provisions, including the ability of students to identify as transgender without parental notification.
According to the New Jersey Family Policy Center, "nearly 30 school boards" have voted to repeal the policy in the past two years, although Garden State Equality said the figure was closer to 18. In most instances, LGBTQ advocates said the repeals took place in conservative districts, making the effort in Edison an outlier. It is a Democratic stronghold where more than half the residents are Asian, according to census figures.
Anthony Marra, an Edison resident, spoke out against the policy protecting the confidentiality of transgender students at the Oct. 29 board meeting.
"Is there a parent anywhere in this town, maybe anywhere in this country, who wants to be kept in the dark about what's going on with his or her daughter?" asked Marra. "If we say don't tell mom and dad, where do we draw the line? What about a drug problem? What about a drinking problem?"
A local group, New Jersey Family Policy Center, mobilized area residents to attend the Oct. 29 board meeting, arguing that the guidelines "kept parents in the dark about their child's gender identity at school," and that a reversal of the policy "could potentially be a tipping point for more school boards statewide to follow Edison's lead."
"Edison's parents need your help in encouraging these school board members to stay strong and firm in their position to repeal this dangerous policy that directs schools to keep a secret shadow medical file on a child that their parents cannot access," the group said on its website .
NJFPC's leaders did not respond to phone inquiries seeking comment. Another group, Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights and has opposed the disclosure protections, said in an email to Gothamist that it doesn't have a chapter in Middlesex County and was unable to comment on the Edison school board's decision. The national group has seen growth in local chapters across New Jersey, according to NJ Spotlight News.
Laura Albrecht, the director of advocacy and organizing for Garden State Equality, said national groups pushing a parents' rights agenda have been active in New Jersey and speaking out against the privacy protections for transgender students.
The groups, she said, "come to school board meetings and repeat the same misinformation, and make wild claims. They also come to legislative hearings in Trenton."
Albrecht said the issue "resonated with some people" in the Edison community, including first and second generation immigrants with "more conservative leanings."
Biral Patel, a board member who initially voted for parental notification before ultimately changing his position, said the earlier board vote – on Sept. 29 – was rushed.
"The only thing that I heard of is, it takes away parental rights," said Patel, who is originally from India.
On Oct. 23, members of AAPI NJ, which claims to be the state's largest Asian American advocacy organization, sent Patel and other board members a letter, urging them to reconsider the decision to repeal the policy, known as Policy 5756, because the change would "place students in harm's way."
The letter, signed by AAPI NJ co-executive directors Amber Reed and Roslyne Shiao, cited data that found over half of AAPI LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation and more than 40% due to their gender expression, and findings that suicide was the leading cause of death among AAPI youth.
Patel told the crowd at the Oct. 29 board meeting he had come around to accept the value of the policy, reversing his earlier stance.
"Personally, I believe so many in the community have largely misinterpreted or have been misinformed about this policy," he said. "I don't think the existence of this policy disputes or diminishes a parent's right to provide support, love, care and guidance to their child."
