NJ dad sues school for keeping child’s gender transition a secret

🔴 State policy is that schools cannot notify parents of gender transitions

🔴 The student had underlying mental health issues

🔴 Policy violates constitutional rights, lawsuit says

ALEXANDRIA — A Hunterdon County high school kept a student's gender transition secret from a father and therapist and then doubled down citing guidance from the Department of Education, according to a new lawsuit.

It's the latest legal development in the ongoing battle over a state policy that prohibits New Jersey school districts from informing parents if their child undergoes a gender transition.

The student, a freshman at Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, was assigned female at birth, according to the lawsuit.

Within the first few weeks of attending, the child said to a school counselor that they wanted to be referred to as a male and use a different name, the lawsuit said.

The child's father was never told about the transition and the change went against recommendations from her therapist, who was also not informed, according to the complaint filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court of New Jersey. Central Jersey Newswire was first to report on the lawsuit.

The therapist had urged "caution" because of other underlying issues including depression and childhood trauma. The student's mother had died when she was 4 years old, the suit said. She had also been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Counselor hides transition from dad

The student first went to the school counselor after attending a school club called Students Advocating for Equality, according to the lawsuit filed on Jan. 5 in U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

The counselor agreed to the student's request to identify as male at school. She then sent an email to district staff informing them about the change; it said that the student's father should not be informed about the change, according to the lawsuit.

Two teachers were left off the email. Both had personal relationships with the student's family and were not included so they would not be able to inform the father, the suit said.

The father only learned about his child's transition in early December 2023 when another student addressed his child using the new male name.

School doubles down on transgender policy

Once he learned about the social transition, the father sent a cease and desist letter to the district addressed to Superintendent Scott McKinney demanding the school stop affirming the student's transition.

In response, the district said it would continue to inform teachers to refer to the student using the new chosen name.

"The District is following federal and state anti-discrimination law, as well as the Department of Education's guidance regarding accepting a student's asserted gender identity," attorneys for the district said in a letter.

School board members also showed an "outward contempt" for the father's parental rights, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, the state's transgender guidance violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because the policy substitutes the judgment of school staff for that of parents regarding a child's mental and physical health.

McKinney said the district was unable to comment on pending litigation.

Transgender policy is guidance, not mandate

A growing number of New Jersey school boards have voted to eliminate the state's transgender policy.

Vineland is the latest to consider eliminating policy 5756. The board members will vote on the policy at their next meeting on Feb. 7, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

In June 2023, the Attorney General's Office sued several school boards for rejecting the Department of Education's guidance. Attorney General Matthew Platkin later demanded that the school districts pay for the state's legal fees.

"We remain firmly committed to protecting the rights of our LGBTQ+ students. We know that, for some young people, coming out to their parents can bring trepidation or even fear. Because ensuring the health and welfare of young people is of paramount importance, communication between parents and teachers must be based on the unique circumstances of each individual student," a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said.

Despite the civil rights complaint, the OAG later admitted in court that the policy was "guidance" and not a mandate.

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