New Jersey Parental Rights Bill Would Restrict Sex, Gender Teaching in K-12 Schools

Stock image showing the entrance of a classroom. Jazmine Thomas/Shutterstock

Amid the backlash against New Jersey’s K-12 sex education standards, a Republican state senator is pushing a bill that would impose restrictions on how schools can teach about sexual orientation and gender identity.

State Sen. Edward Durr, a former trucker who unseated long-time Democrat career politician Steve Sweeney in last year’s election, on Monday introduced Senate Bill 2648. This bill is similar to a part of Florida’s new education law, under which teachers are not allowed to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K through 3.

The proposed New Jersey bill goes further than the Florida law to ban schools from teaching on those topics for students in grades K through 6. It also requires school districts to not teach students in grades 7 through 12 on such topics unless they have obtained written permission from the student’s parent or guardian.

Any student whose parent or guardian doesn’t provide a written consent must be excused from that portion of the course without being punished or losing credits, the bill states.

The bill also allows parents to sue the school district if their child receives sex or gender instruction in violation of the bill. A district that violates the bill could risk having its funding withheld by the state.

Durr promised to introduce the bill in April, saying at that time he “highly doubt[s]” New Jersey parents would want their children to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation in elementary school.

“I have heard from countless parents throughout South Jersey who have expressed anger and frustration in response to this new curriculum,” he said, referring to the sex education standards that New Jersey adopted two years ago and planned to implement this fall. “They genuinely feel that their parental rights are being ignored by the Murphy Administration—something that is difficult to dispute.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a bill into law in 2019 that would require public schools to incorporate LGBTQ-themed content into their K-5 curricula, making the Garden State the second in the nation to do so after California. Those contents recently sparked a new round of debate after Republican state Sen. Holly Schepisi reviewed the recommended lesson plans and made them accessible to the public.

Opponents argue that the sample materials are, among other issues, simply inappropriate for young children. For example, students are expected to define terms such as “sex assigned at birth, gender identity, cisgender, transgender, gender nonbinary and transgender” by the end of 5th grade. Before students begin high school, they are expected to understand vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

Teachers are encouraged to tell 2nd graders, “You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘girl’ parts. You might feel like you’re a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘boy’ parts. And you might not feel like you’re a boy or a girl, but you’re a little bit of both. No matter how you feel, you’re perfectly normal!”

Facing an uproar against the model curriculum, Murphy insisted that it is age-appropriate. He also accused Republicans in his state of trying to foster division among parents.

“I think shame on the folks who are trying to separate us,” Murphy said.