NJ Federal Court Rules No Outing of Students in School

 JOANNA GAGIS, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT | FEBRUARY 12, 2025 | EDUCATION, MORE ISSUES

Transgender advocates say the ruling is a win for trans rights in schools

A state appellate court blocked four New Jersey districts from adopting new policies that would have required their schools to out transgender students to their parents.

Both sides of the debate claimed victory in the ruling, as conservative groups called it still a win for parents’ rights, while transgender advocates said it bolstered trans students’ rights in schools.

“This ruling is a major victory for trans students, civil rights, and the fundamental principles of equality in our schools — and we helped make it happen,” said Garden State Equality, the advocacy group.

In 2023, Hanover Middletown, Manalapan-Englishtown and the Marlboro school districts tried to adopt new policies that would require schools to inform parents if a student changed their gender identity or name in school. New Jersey’s Attorney General Matt Platkin sued the districts, saying it went against state guidance known as Policy 5756 adopted under Gov. Chris Christie.

“We will always stand up for the LGBTQ+ community here in New Jersey,” said Platkin in a 2023 statement when one of the first civil rights complaints were filed. “We are extremely proud of the contributions LGBTQ+ students make to our classrooms and our communities, and we remain committed to protecting them from discrimination in our schools.”

However, in this week’s decision, the appellate judges also said the four districts are not necessarily compelled to adopt Policy 5756 and have the option to rewrite their own policies.

“This lawsuit should never have been brought,” said state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) in a post on X. “Total waste of state & local resources. The misrepresentation of the reasonable Middletown policy was outrageous. End result of the AG’s action is no policy at all. The AG’s action, and the actions of those organizations backing that action, is a net negative for trans kids.”

The districts will now need to work with the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights to make reasonable progress on the matter, and soon.