Governor Murphy has worked to pack the New Jersey State Board of Education after encountered some former members’ resistance to his radical sexual and gender education curriculum standards.
Devoid of dissenting voices, one state legislator says the board is trying to limit public participation. He says the board didn’t email notice of its upcoming spring meetings until 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, April 6th. The registration period for participation was supposed to be open from March 27th until April 10th at Noon.
“The State Board of Education sent out notice of the three public hearings at midday on Thursday with a deadline of Monday at noon to register to testify,” said State Senator Mike Testa (R-1). “They know that Friday is a State holiday and Sunday is Easter. It couldn’t be more obvious that they’re trying to limit public participation in what’s taught in our schools, just as they have in the past. They want public hearings without the public. It begs the question: what are they trying to hide?”
“Why should someone who wants to testify at the April 24 or May 3 hearings have to sign up by April 10?” Testa added. “It’s shockingly clear they want to limit dissent so they can rubberstamp the changes they want to make to the learning standards. It’s another failure by the State Board of Education to be open and transparent with parents and concerned citizens.”
The stakes are high; Senator Testa reports that the board is about to take up proposed standards for incorporating climate change and environmental justice topics into… this isn’t a typo… mathematics and English curricula.
Want to participate? You should ESPECIALLY because they don’t want you to.
Here’s the list of hearings:
- Camden County College on Thursday, April 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Warren County College on Monday, April 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- New Jersey Department of Education offices in Trenton on Wednesday, May 3 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
You can register (by noon on April 10th) at https://homeroom5.doe.state.nj.us/events/ or by phone: 609-376-9071.
