Toms River officials held a meeting Monday for parents concerned about the new statewide sex education curriculum in public schools.
State officials say school districts have some flexibility in how much they teach and how much they let parents do. Also, Gov. Phil Murphy has always made it clear that parents have the option to opt their children out of such lessons.
Toms River is a more conservative neighborhood. School officials have presented plans that would leave parents on some of the most controversial themes of sex education.
Dozens of parents came to Monday’s meeting. They said the meeting was long overdue. Many said they just wanted the district to be transparent about what they were teaching students.
A bill to allow school districts to publish curricula online for parents was introduced in the state legislature, but the bill was defeated. The bill’s originators accused Republicans of fomenting fear.
“I think this is a misinformation campaign. A lot of it is political. We would have just wanted it to be 100% transparent and put on the school district’s website for all parents to see,” said Senator Bingopal, a Democrat.
Some believe the bill may have passed because Democrats control the state legislature.