Barnegat Board of Education Repeals Transgender Student Policy 5756

BARNEGAT - At the June 11, 2024 meeting, the Barnegat Township Board of Education voted to abolish Policy 5756, which addressed the rights and protections for transgender students in the school district.

The policy has been repealed in up to 25 school districts throughout New Jersey, after the courts and NJ Department of Education revealed Policy 5756 is not mandatory.

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5756 offers guidance on how to treat transgender students. This includes allowing the student to dress in accordance with their gender identity, using their chosen name and pronouns in school and keeping  changes confidential from parents or guardians,

Opponents of the policy believe that it takes decision-making away from parents.

Supporters argued it protected transgender students from being outed and ensured a more inclusive school environment.

Shawn Hyland, director of advocacy for the New Jersey Family Policy Center, a conservative advocacy group, spoke at the meeting and shared the following.

"Parents have the constitutional right to their child's medical and school records, so right there, there's no reason for the school to keep them in the dark,"

"Their child's social and emotional and mental wellbeing is something parents should be involved in and should be notified of, and schools should be in partnership with parents when it comes to children and students in the community."

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Lauren Albrecht, spoke online at the meeting to address her support of Policy 5756. A number of people spoke, who did not necessarily live in Barnegat also indicated support of the policy.

The Barnegat Township Board of Education's decision is one of several recent instances where such policies have been repealed in the state.

The meeting can be viewed in its entirety below.

Some of the districts in NJ that have also rejected Policy 5756, according to the Asbury Park Press, include:

• Colts Neck,
• Freehold,
• Holmdel,
• Howell,
• Lacey,
• Millstone,
• Franklin Lakes,
• Lafayette,
• Old Bridge,
• Ramapo Indian Hills,
• Roxbury,
• Sparta,
• Sussex-Wantage Regional,
• Union Township in Hunterdon County,
• Vineland
• Washington Township in Morris County,

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