Gopal wants 'clarity' from Murphy on sex ed standards

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Apr 12, 2022 View in browser   By Jonathan Custodio "Clarity." That's what Senate Education Chair Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) is seeking from Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Department of Education on New Jersey's health and sex education standards, reports POLITICO's Carly Sitrin. "Given the amount of misinformation out there and questions coming from parents ... I have formally called on the Department of Education and the Governor's office to provide clarity on all of these items and issue it publicly before any further action is taken on implementation," Gopal wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday morning. His comments come amid growing fervor from conservatives on social media, including from Republican state Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) who helped circulate sample lessons submitted to the Westfield Board of Education by an advocacy group. They mentioned pornography and referred to a diverse spectrum of gender identities. While Westfield Superintendent Raymond González made clear that the plans don't represent the actual curriculum, conservatives have been looking to capitalize off some parents' fears around sex education. Gopal said he had a detailed conversation with Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan, learning that the 2020 statewide student learning standards for health and physical education, which includes sex ed, are recommended guidelines rather than mandates and contains "generic language on identifying gender roles and treating all kids, regardless of their gender, with respect.'" Pornography instruction is not included in the statewide standards and students must "demonstrate ways to promote dignity and respect for all people," including for gender identity. Murphy told reporters on Monday that he's "willing to entertain" a revision of the standards. HAPPY TUESDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, new Playbook PM author for the next few months . I've covered the race for New York City mayor and comptroller in 2021 as well as world and national security issues and energy policy at POLITICO. I'm excited to helm this newsletter. You can send eastern goldfinch photos to jcustodio@politico.com. We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy's spending plan. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY JUDICIAL SHORTAGE — New Jersey's judicial vacancies are continuing to pile up, creating concern among judges and court officials, reports New Jersey Monitor's Nikita Biryukov. During a hearing of the Assembly Budget Committee today, members of the judiciary pointed to vacancies in 16 percent of of the state's more than 460 judgeships. Judge Glenn Grant, the administrative director of the state's courts, told lawmakers that another 22 judges are expected to retire at the end of the year. JUMPING OFF THE COUNCIL CLIFFS — Englewood Cliffs Council Member Ramon Ferro is resigning from his office, reports North Jersey's Jessie Gomez. The Republican's resignation follows a deluge of departures last year, including that of Republican Council President William Woo, and his unanticipated departure came without a specific reason. The Republican County Committee is entitled to fill the vacancy Ferro leaves behind and plans to propose three candidates for the Council to choose for appointment. COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported seven Covid-19 deaths and 1,488 confirmed cases Tuesday. The seven-day average is up 37 percent from a week ago and 64 percent from a month ago. After Philadelphia instituted new mask mandates in all indoor places, Murphy told New Jerseyans on Monday during his regular television call-in show that he'd "be shocked if we put a mandate like that in place in New Jersey.'" ON THE BEATS EDUCATION — Some graduate students at Rutgers University who experienced delays in their research due to the pandemic are running out of funding and are asking the school's administration for help. Two graduate students told the college's Board of Trustees during a virtual meeting today they are in danger of dropping out of their programs because their departments have been unwilling to extend their funding to make up for research time lost during the Covid-19 shutdowns. According to the Rutgers AAUP-AFT union, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway's administration rejected around 360 applications for funding extensions last year, which the union said could be reflective of the need this year. The union estimated the cost of universal extensions for graduate students losing funding to be $11 million a year. "This is an extraordinarily difficult and important issue, we are not blind to the issue at all," Holloway said during the board meeting. "I'm deeply sympathetic to the challenges, they are serious, the grad students are certainly right to be concerned." Holloway also said he "encourages graduate students with ongoing concerns to reach out to the graduate team to discuss how we can help ensure that they're able to complete your dissertation, and secure their degree." — Carly Sitrin CASINOS — Atlantic City's state senator is hoping the city's nine casinos will be smoke-free within the year. State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Atlantic) told POLITICO today that he was eyeing the end of the casino's indoor smoking carveout some time in 2022. Casinos allow smoking in some sections of the casino floor. "I'd like to see committee hearings in the spring. I think depending on how those committee hearings play out will dictate the rest of the schedule," Polistina said shortly after a rally calling for an end to casino smoking. "But I would hope 2022, we're talking about smoke-free facilities in all of New Jersey." Polistina, along with Assemblymembers Don Guardian and Clarie Swift (both R-Atlantic) have supported efforts to ban casino smoking, a campaign promise they made in the 2nd Legislative District, which encompasses most of Atlantic County, including the seaside resort city. — Daniel Han  Around New Jersey "Rizzo raises $160k, significantly trailing Kean's and Malinowski's Q1 totals," by New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox : "Phil Rizzo, a former pastor and 2021 Republican gubernatorial candidate, announced today that he raised $160,000 during the 1st quarter in his bid for the 7th congressional district. That total puts him well behind the frontrunner in the Republican primary, former Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), who raised $840,000 during the first three months of the year. Incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), meanwhile, had a $1.06 million Q1 haul." "Rice endorses Dupré Kelly for Newark's West Ward," by New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: "State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark), a longtime fixture in Newark politics, announced this morning that he is endorsing rapper Dupré Kelly for the Newark City Council's West Ward. … Kelly is running this May on Mayor Ras Baraka's ticket, and today's endorsement further solidifies him as a frontrunner for the seat. He previously ran an independent bid for an at-large council seat in 2018, getting an impressive 3,551 votes and beating out several more established candidates." Odds and ends — Two cameras, one in Somerset County and the other in Hunterdon, have been documenting the lives of nesting bald eagles in the Garden State. — Mayor Randy George of North Haledon is leading an effort to retain a 25-foot star at High Mountain Park Preserve.  — A small zoo in Piscataway will close after 73 years because of persistent flooding due to climate change.  — A 62-year-old man from Boonton Township ran the length of New Jersey (that's 196 miles, if you're counting).   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  California Playbook PM  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  New York Playbook PM View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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