New Jersey parental rights activists believe they scored a significant victory on Monday following a ruling by a three-judge appellate panel concerning the fate of the Murphy Administration’s “transgender guidance” policy.
“The State Appellate Court has ruled that Middletown is not obligated to follow the anti-parent guidance policy 5756, thereby upholding parents’ rights,” Middletown Board of Education President Frank Capone announced shortly after noon. “This was yet another instance of an Attorney General prioritizing personal political ambitions over the responsible use of taxpayer dollars and the well-being of children!”
The 34-page decision is nuanced, but the gist is that local school districts will no longer be prevented from replacing policy 5756 with their own modified “alternative” framework. Dozens of other school districts around the state previously scrapped Policy 5657 outright only a few (including Middletown) were singled out by the Attorney General and sued; during litigation pertaining to another district, a deputy attorney general admitted that the policy was “guidance” and therefore not mandatory, opening the floodgates for the aforementioned districts to rebel.
“We affirm the provision of the orders that enjoins the Boards from enacting the amended policies they adopted on June 20, 2023,” the panel considering Middletown’s case wrote. “We reverse, however, the provision of the orders that enjoins the Boards from considering alternative new policies.”
“The Boards have the authority to ‘[m]ake, amend, and repeal rules . . . for its own government and the transaction of its business and for the government and management of the public schools and public school property of the district and for the employment, regulation of conduct and discharge of its employees,'” explained the panel. “In essence, the trial court’s injunctions assumed that any amendment to the Existing Policies would violate the [New Jersey Law Against Discrimination]. There is no basis for that assumption. The Boards must act consistently with the LAD’s mandates. If the Boards amend their Existing Policies in a way that violates the LAD, the Attorney General can seek appropriate relief, including an injunction to address specific actions.”
“This lawsuit should never have been brought,” opined state Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) 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.”
You can read the full decision here.
VICTORY ✌
State Appellate Court finds Middletown not obligated to keep the non-mandatory, anti-parent guidance of 5756. Parents rights VINDICATED. Looking forward to our Board meeting this Thursday. Expect ACTION. Stay tuned.@Frank_Cap1_BOE pic.twitter.com/osOwYBLi0t— Jacqueline Tobacco (@Jax1331) February 10, 2025
*POLICY 5756* update: The State Appellate Court has ruled that Middletown is not obligated to follow the anti-parent guidance policy 5756, thereby upholding parents’ rights.
This was yet another instance of an Attorney General prioritizing personal political ambitions over the… pic.twitter.com/MAcKIoK9Cg
— Frank Capone (@Frank_Cap1_BOE) February 10, 2025
