A school district in New Jersey forces staff to lie and keep secrets from parents about children’s “gender” confusion.
But parents have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, not government bureaucrats.
The Westwood Regional School Board in Township of Washington, New Jersey, is about to find out.
Thomas More Society, which represents teachers and parents in Mirabelli, et al. v. Bonta, represents the parents of a child in Westwood Regional Middle School. Attorneys sent a letter to the school board, dated Wednesday, March 25, demanding that they rescind Policy 5756.
The attorneys pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mirabelli and said it is directly applicable to Westwood Regional School District’s Policy 5756.
The court in Mirabelli ruled that parents who sought religious exemptions from a “gender” secret-keeping policy likely would succeed on the merits, citing their decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025).
“California’s policies will likely not survive the strict scrutiny that Mahmoud demands.”
Thomas More Society warned the school board that if the bureaucrats don’t take reasonable steps within 20 days, they will file a lawsuit on the clients’ behalf.
“Parents send their children to school every day trusting that the district is in partnership with them—not working around them,” said Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel at Thomas More Society. “Policy 5756 destroys that trust. It builds a wall of secrecy between parents and their own children on one of the most consequential decisions a family can face, and it does so by design. That is not a school policy; that is a betrayal.”
