Group questions school district priorities on masks and vaccines, sex education, race

A forum Nov. 9 by the Ocean City School District at the Ocean City Free Public Library covered the following topics: Mask and Vaccination mandates, Critical Race Theory (CRT), sex education and gender identification, and student misbehavior at Ocean City High School. The event was moderated by Interim Superintendent Dr. Thomas Baruffi and attended by approximately 100 members of the community. With such important topics on the agenda, why was it that most elected board members (85 percent) chose not to attend the forum?

Our concerns, based on feedback at the forum, is as follows:

 1. The district is already incorporating principles of CRT. Several parents testified about that at the forum.

 2. We are concerned that concepts such as anal sex are taught in the New Jersey Health/PE curriculum by the time a student reaches eighth grade.

 3. We are concerned that new New Jersey law dictates local school boards implement learning across all curriculum that emphasizes the contributions of particular minority groups. Time spent on this initiative would be better spent on remedying gaps in learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and in teaching fundamental concepts such as reading, writing, science, and mathematics.

 4. There is a credibility gap. The district’s leadership is not being transparent about CRT, about mask and vaccine mandates, and more.

 5. We need to step up for our children to ensure they are protected from indoctrination, and dictates from Trenton. If we don’t intervene, who will?

What follows is a summary of topics covered at the forum and relevant exchanges with stakeholders. 

Race in academics

Academic Services Director Curt Nath discussed CRT, which he said actually stands for “Culturally Responsive Teaching,” rather than “Critical Race Theory.” He defined DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He said the goal is not to provide every child an equal experience and shared a cartoon which showed the concept of equity. He said schools have been working under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for many years already, a law that requires school districts to be welcoming, inclusive places for all students, including students identifying as LGBTQ. Information and data from the Trevor Project-National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021 was shared. Mr. Nath suggested “it’s all about DEI. Who here can argue that our schools should be welcoming places?” Dr. Baruffi said categorically that the school district does not teach CRT. Several parents in attendance disagreed. 

We are not convinced that DEI isn’t just another name for CRT and that it isn’t already woven throughout the curricula. Parents expressed concerns that their children already bring home evidence that CRT concepts – such as white privilege, oppressor/oppressed, segregating students by racial, gender, and sexual orientation. Equity in schools refers to supports and interventions that level the playing field so that every student, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, creed, etc., has equal access to curriculum and instruction.

We heard the district has an equity team; however, we were not clear on the function of the team, how the membership was selected, and what outcomes the equity team hopes to achieve. We were shown a cartoon, widely used to demonstrate how equity differs from equality. In the cartoon, the boxes the kids are standing on are used to prop up the smallest kids in an effort to give everyone the same access to view the game. Equity is an easy concept to support in this oversimplified example. Most would agree that the shorter children should get a box to stand on, just as accommodations to students with disabilities are provided to ensure equal access. 

But what if the children were all the same height and the only characteristics that were different were their race, gender or sexual orientation? What does equity look like in arithmetic, science and history? Depending on the minority group, and the affirmative equity strategies employed, there exists a slippery slope upon which giving advantages to one set of students may disadvantage others. 

Just one example of the ways in which equity strategies are applied to give equal access to scholarship programs is the College Board National Recognition Program (with lower standards than the National Merit Scholarship Program) for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and students from rural areas or small towns. At the October Board of Education meeting, Dr. Baruffi recognized a group of students who met the criteria for this program in OCSD. While we celebrate the success of every student who met the criteria, it begs the question, how does one measure adversity from historical injustices based on a privilege/victim paradigm? Arguably, every child comes to school with a host of individual challenges that aren’t attached to race — including disability, poverty, broken families (not to mention the significant anxieties created by the pandemic). 

What are other ways we prop up groups that may not have the same access? Who selects the students or groups that need help? Under what definition? Does equity only apply to race, gender and sexual orientation, or does it apply to religion, political ideologies and other less visible differences as well? 

We believe our children deserve to go to schools here in Ocean City without feelings of guilt attached to an equity ethic. We believe our children deserve equal access to curriculum free from government agendas. Affirmative action is a not a new concept in America. The push for equity, like the social justice movement, may seem like affirmative steps for some, while it is regressive for others. We need to be very careful in applying these strategies. We teach our children to be accepting of all people — regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc. — shouldn’t our public schools model the same behavior?

Though parents expressed concerns that their children already lost significant learning during the pandemic and that gaps in their education – indeed many have even adjusted their future college aspirations – this school district is not resisting political pressures from Trenton to fill instructional time with concepts that do not fit with Ocean City’s values. A local pastor respectfully asked the Board of Education and Interim Superintendent Baruffi to push back against Trenton in accordance with the wishes of the majority of parents. Dr. Baruffi said, “I’m not convinced this is the majority view.”

Gender, sex education

Many of us were shocked to learn that children as young as 5 years old can elect to use a different pronoun without parental consent, just as long as the child’s desire to switch gender is “insistent, persistent and consistent.” 

The next topic addressed new standards for Health and PE. Dr. Lauren Gunther, OCSD curriculum director and Student Services director, discussed aspects of the new sex education topics within the PE/Health curriculum. Parents expressed outrage that the curriculum now includes discussion of explicit sex acts – including anal sex – not previously discussed. Several parents said this teaching is between parents and their children, and should not be discussed at school. The interim superintendent said there was an option for parents to write their principals to request alternative assignments when these concepts are addressed. Parents requested that the district facilitate the alternative lessons. Mr. Nath said that the school district has always had this policy but would “put something on the website.” 

Children need to learn enduring understandings from history, mathematics, literature and more. While our country falls further behind other nations in science, technology, engineering and math, we seem to be prioritizing the wrong things. And schools are crossing the line into values and morals education that should and must be left up to parents. New Student Learning Standards in New Jersey call for emphasizing the contributions of the LGBTQ community, and shift the pedagogical focus to diversity, equity and inclusion. Since when has dividing human beings by race, nationality, religion, sexual preference and more ever been a good idea or a way to be more inclusive?

According to the new New Jersey Student Learning Standards, there were only “minor changes” to the 2014 Health and PE standards in 2020. We disagree, but you be the judge. Here is just a sample of the new language from the New Jersey Department of Education, detailing what students should know in the area of Sexual and Social Health.

By the end of second grade: (2.1.2.SSH.2) Discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.

By the end of fifth grade: (2.1.5.SSH.2) Differentiate between sexual orientation and gender identity. 

By the end of eighth grade: There are factors that contribute to making healthy decisions about sex. (2.1.8.SSH.9) Define vaginal, oral, and anal sex.

By the end of 12th grade: (2.1.12.SSH.1) Analyze the influences of peers, family, media, social norms and culture on the expression of gender, sexual orientation, and identity.

New Jersey has also implemented new laws to ensure our children are learning about the contributions of the LGBTQ community. This is what the new law requires:

LGBT and Disabilities Law (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.35) A board of education shall include instruction on the political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, in an appropriate place in the curriculum of middle school and high school students as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. N.J.S.A.18A:35-4.36 A board of education shall have policies and procedures in place pertaining to the selection of instructional materials to implement the requirements of N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.35.

Masks and vaccination

The interim superintendent discussed Gov. Murphy’s mask mandate, saying he is not in a position to fight the governor’s executive order. He said the district would lose $4-5 million in state funding if the district opted to do so. He cited declining COVID-19 numbers and a low transmission rate in Ocean City schools during a time when masks have been required. He said he didn’t know whether the requirement had anything to do with the data. Parents expressed concerns about the ineffectiveness of masks, acne, rashes and difficulty breathing that have been documented among some children. There were also parents who objected to children being required to wear masks in their schools while administrators have not been wearing masks while alone in their offices. Dr. Baruffi said OCSD would not require masks if and when Gov. Murphy lifts the executive order.

On the topic of vaccinations, Dr. Baruffi talked about the governor’s executive order 253 regarding vaccination which will go into effect when EO 251 (mask mandate) is lifted. Ocean City Primary School in partnership with AtlantiCare will be offering free, optional vaccination clinics for children ages 5-11 in the coming weeks. Dr. Baruffi said the district was very excited about AtlantiCare offering these vaccination clinics. For students who aren’t vaccinated, the district may implement a weekly testing protocol in accordance with EO 253. The necessity, planning and logistics for this activity are currently under review. 

This is not us against them. We need to be working together to ensure mutual trust and the best possible education of our children. Parents deserve a seat at the table. The laws allow schools “in loco parentis” responsibilities over every child who walks through their doors. That concept means that parents have given tremendous trust in school faculties and staffs to act in ways consistent with decisions the students’ parents would also make. It doesn’t give carte blanche to school districts to promote political ideologies, or to teach children to think of themselves as oppressors, or to encourage them to become social justice warriors. 

In this resource rich school district, we want our children to become critical thinkers and uncover enduring understandings based on truths, not theories (such as CRT). We are not against equality. We care deeply about our children, and protecting them from harm, even when that harm comes from government institutions. This school district needs to take these issues seriously and focus on meaningful outcomes from forums like the one held on Nov. 9. And we need a board and administration willing to stand up for the children of this school district. 

We invite all parents and stakeholders to join the OCNJ School Discussion 2021-22 Facebook group, to submit comments and questions, and to participate in future meetings and forums. We encourage stakeholders to join us in advocating on  behalf of all children of this school district.

Robin Shaffer, MEd, is the founder and moderator of the OCNJ School Discussion and chair of the Alliance for Sensible Education in Ocean City. Shaffer, who ran unsuccessfuly for the Ocean City Board of Education Nov. 2, has  28 years of experience working in the education field. 

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