OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Board of Education President Kevin Barnes short-circuited another attempt to repeal a district policy that offers support and privacy for transgender students.
The board voted down a similar move at the March 13 meeting, after numerous people spoke out in opposition to the state Department of Education directive known as policy 5756. (See story online at ocnjsentinel.com.)
The policy, adopted by the board a few years ago, is long. The part that has stimulated the most opposition among some citizens and parents is its “student-centered approach.” The policy does not require the district to inform parents if a student has asked to be identified by a gender of their choice or a different name. Opponents claim that interferes with their parental rights.
Only one person spoke up in opposition to the policy at the board’s May 1 meeting. Charles Martin, who said he is the father of three students in the district, also opposed the policy in comments made to the board in March.
This time, he tied his opposition to the policy to what he considers its conflict with the Student Code of Conduct, which lists expected behavioral values including integrity and honesty. Martin cited definitions of integrity as having strong moral and ethical principals and honesty as a refusal to lie and being truthful.
“This non-mandatory policy is instructing our children to form honest relationships with some (teachers) and not with others (their parents),” he said. “How does this promote the core value of honesty?”
Because the policy states teachers are to be more honest with the children than the parents, he asked, “How does this promote integrity?”
Ocean City resident Joy Kolitsky, who said her daughter is in the district and whose son graduated last year, spoke in favor of the policy.
Kolitsky said it does as good a job as any public institution can do to help the very small minority of students who are struggling with their personal issues.
After the public comment, board member Catherine Panico tried to make a motion to rescind the policy.
She and fellow board member Liz Nicoletti ran for school board with the intention to fight the policy. They made previous attempts to have it repealed, most recently at the March meeting.
That attempt was met with a long debate among them, Barnes and board solicitor Michael Stanton, who explained Robert’s Rules of Order dictated that they first have to deal with their request in committee, making a motion to discharge it from committee to bring it before the board.
That meeting became unruly as some of the people who spoke out against the policy and their supporters began shouting at Barnes and Stanton.
The debate ended when the board voted 5-2 against discharging the motion from committee.
It didn’t get that far at last week’s meeting.
Barnes told Panico the issue was discussed and voted on at the March meeting and that the board would not consider it.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
