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The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education on Tuesday adopted a policy of parental notification regarding transgender students.

Patch Staff

TRENTON, NJ – The state Attorney General is moving to block a policy on parental notification involving transgender students enacted just this Tuesday by the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education.

The same action is being taken against the Marlboro Board of Education that adopted a similar policy, also on Tuesday.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Thursday the filing of Division on Civil Rights complaints challenging what it termed "unlawful policies" enacted this week by the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional, Marlboro and Middletown Boards of Education.

The policies enacted by these three Boards of Education require school staff in these school systems to notify parents of the gender identity or expression of transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender non-binary students, the office said in a statement.

In the policy enacted by the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education, when a student “requests a public social transition accommodation,” the school must “notify a student’s parents or guardian of the student’s asserted gender identity.” It also states that for “students in grades Pre-K through 5,” the “responsibility for determining a student’s gender identity rests with the student’s parents/guardians,” rather than with the student.

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Platkin and the Division of Civil Rights have also filed emergency motions in Superior Court, requesting preliminary injunctions and temporary restraints to prevent all three of the policies from going into effect while DCR’s challenges to the policies remain pending.

The Manalapan-Englishtown district said it had "no comment on the suit at this time," when reached for a response.

The meeting Tuesday was attended by many people opposed to the policy but also had supporters of the parental notification policy. You can read about the meeting - and the Marlboro meeting - here. There are links in the story to the full policy.

The state action alleges that all three of the policies violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.

As the complaints assert, the policies enacted by the Middletown, Marlboro, and Manalapan-Englishtown Boards "expressly target transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender non-binary students by singling them out for differential treatment, requiring parental notification for those students but not their peers," the Attorney General's office says.

The complaints also assert that the parental notification policies have "disparate impacts on transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary youth."

"By imposing a requirement that school staff must 'out' these students to their parents, the policies expose these students to the potential for severe harms to their safety and mental health. The policies also disregard and contradict guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education concerning the confidentiality and privacy of such information," the office says.

“In New Jersey, we will not tolerate any action by schools that threatens the health and safety of our young people. Without question, the discriminatory policies passed by these Boards of Education, if allowed to go into effect, will harm our kids and pose severe risk to their safety,” said Platkin. “Simply put, these policies violate our laws, and we will not relent in protecting our LGBTQ+ community—especially our children—from discrimination.”

In addition to filing administrative civil rights complaints, the state is seeking temporary restraints and preliminary injunctions from the Superior Court to prohibit the Boards from implementing the policies while the administrative complaints are pending.

The requested injunctions from the court would preserve the status quo during the litigation and thereby ensure that school officials are not forced to “out” transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary students to their parents while the administrative complaints are pending, the state says.

The requested injunctions would not prevent school staff from notifying parents about concerns unrelated to Law Against Discrimination-protected characteristics, nor would they prevent school staff from complying with Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) policies, or other similar reporting requirements designed to protect students’ safety.

“School policies that single out or target LGBTQ+ youth fly in the face of our State’s longstanding commitment to equality,” said Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “Our laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression, plain and simple, and we will not waver in our commitment to enforcing those protections.”

The policies challenged today were all enacted on Tuesday, June 20. The policy enacted by the Marlboro Board of Education provides that the school district is required to notify parents or guardians of any student’s “change in gender identity or expression.”

It also eliminates the requirement under prior Marlboro policy that the school address students by their preferred name and pronoun; the new policy now permits the district to deviate from a student’s preferred name and pronoun when “a parent/guardian of a minor student disagrees with the student regarding the name and/or pronoun to be used at school.”

The new policy similarly eliminates the requirement under prior Marlboro policy that all students are entitled to access school facilities in accordance with their gender identity.

The policy enacted by the Middletown Board of Education provides that where a student “requests a public social transition accommodation,” such as a name or pronoun change, a bathroom or locker room accommodation, or club or sports accommodation, the school is obligated to “notify a student’s parents or guardian” of the student’s “asserted gender identity.”

The transgender policies of the three Monmouth County school districts directly defies the NJ Department of Education's own policy on transgender students, which says parents do not have to be informed of what their child does in school regarding gender.

The enforcement actions announced today follows a civil rights complaint and application for temporary restraints filed by Attorney General Platkin and DCR challenging a Hanover Township Board of Education policy that likewise required school staff to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents. The litigation challenging that policy remains pending. The Superior Court, however, has temporarily restrained the Hanover Township Board of Education and the school district from enforcing that policy while it considers the matter.

the Division of Civil Rights is the state agency responsible for preventing and eliminating discrimination and bias-based harassment in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation (e.g., places open to the public like schools, businesses, hospitals, etc.).

Local Editor Carly Baldwin contributed to this report.

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A majority of the Englishtown Borough Council voted to repeal its ordinance prohibiting marijuana businesses in town.

Patch Staff

|Updated Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 12:10 am ET

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — The Borough Council has repealed its prohibition of cannabis businesses in town by a vote of 4-2.

Now, licensed cannabis businesses can apply to operate in the borough.

Councilman Daniel Francisco made the motion to repeal the prohibition at the Oct. 26 meeting. His motion was seconded by Councilman Bill Lewis. They voted for the repeal as did Councilmen William Sabin and Bill Marter. Councilmembers Cindy Robilotti and Eric Mann voted against the repeal. Mayor Thomas Reynolds votes only in a tie.

Any class of cannabis business could now apply for approval to operate in the borough, Francisco said, adding that the town still would have to approve the business.

Cannabis operations "are a legal business and should be viewed as anything else," Francisco said, when asked about the repeal of the prohibition.

Find out what's happening in Manalapanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory Commission, it issues licenses for medicinal and recreational cannabis business operations.

Each business requires a license, which must be active and in good standing, to perform any commercial cannabis activity, including:

The commission is currently accepting applications for personal use (recreational) cannabis businesses in the following categories:

License applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until indicated otherwise. Social Equity Businesses, Diversely-Owned Businesses, Impact Zone Businesses, and applications that receive bonus points will be afforded priority review, scoring, and approval, the commission says.

There is no established limit on the number of cannabis business licenses available statewide. By statute, however, the number of Class 1 Cultivators is to be held to 37 licenses until February 22, 2023.

Municipalities are then responsible for establishing their own rules for getting local approval to operate a cannabis business, the state noted.

Francisco said the Englishtown location would be attractive to potential marijuana businesses because it is central in the area, and there are no nearby cannabis retail outlets or storage facilities.

"We're in a prime location. We want prospective businesses to know," Francisco said.

Francisco said the borough needs to develop its downtown business district with a variety of new businesses - not just a cannabis operation.

He said he envisions Englishtown's developing its downtown to become a destination such as Freehold.

Patch is asking candidates for local school boards to share their views on the issues. David Kane of Manalapan presents his ideas.

Patch Staff

|Updated Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 9:33 pm ET

MANALAPAN-ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — David Kane is one of four candidates seeking election to three full-term seats on the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education in the Nov. 8 general election.

In these profiles, based on questions provided, the candidates give voters background about themselves and their positions on the issues. Patch is publishing individual profiles leading up to the election.

Kane says educational excellence and school safety are top priorities, but he also cites challenges because of cuts in school funding. "Collectively, the board and district administration have worked together to try to find ways to absorb the cuts while minimizing the impact on student education and taxpayers," he says.

Read more from candidate David Kane:

Name: David Kane

Find out what's happening in Manalapanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Age: 39

Town of residence: Manalapan

Position sought: I seek re-election to the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education.

Are you an incumbent or have previous school board or civic experience? Yes, I have been serving on the Board since January of 2020.

Do you have a campaign designation or slate? My campaign designation is "Focused on Education."

Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075539843205

Family: I'm married to my wife, Jodie, who is a public school kindergarten teacher in a local district. We have three daughters, with two currently in our school district (and the third still in preschool).

Education: I grew up attending public schools in Monmouth County. I then graduated from Rutgers University in 2005 and Boston University School of Law in 2008.

Occupation: I am an attorney and partner with the law firm of McCarter & English, LLP, where I've worked for more than 14 years.

Why do you want to run for the school board and what in your experience or background prepares you for election:

I first ran for the board - and am running for re-election - because I want to ensure our district provides the highest possible quality of public education so our students have all of the tools and opportunities needed to succeed.

I've served on the board for nearly three years since January of 2020. Previously, I served for three years from 2016 through 2018 as an elected member of the Manalapan Township Committee, as well as appointed terms on the Planning Board and Environmental Commission. Through all of those roles, I've gained first hand knowledge of the issues facing our town and school district, as well as hands-on experience with budgeting and fiscal responsibility.

Name what you see as the top issues currently facing your district and how you plan to address them. These can be local issues and/or statewide issues:

The most important issue facing our district right now is the significant loss in state funding. Collectively, the board and district administration have worked together to try to find ways to absorb the cuts while minimizing the impact on student education and taxpayers.

In addition, we continue to focus on school security to keep our children safe. I currently chair a Board subcommittee focused on trying to remove polling locations from our schools, which we believe will continue to improve safety.

What changes or improvements do you see for the district that could enhance educational life and is there a way you might accomplish that?

The district should continue to work on improving education for all learning levels. To do that, we need to refine the processes in place for students with the greatest needs, as well as ensure all students have access to ever improving educational materials and technology.

Candidates for Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Board of Education:

Full Term - Vote for Three

Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at [email protected] for another email of our candidate questions.

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — It's the end of a fabled Central Jersey institution: The iconic Raceway Park in Englishtown suddenly announced this week they will no longer be hosting drag racing. Calling it "a new era for Raceway," the Napp family, which owns the park, says they will no longer have drag racing there.

The 480-acre Raceway Park will remain open, however, and the Napp family promises most of the other events there will continue, including auto swap meets, car shows, motocross racing/practice, kart racing and drifting.

The grandstand and about half of the drag racing strip will be converted to an outdoor concert venue.

The news means the fabled Summernationals, a beloved summertime drag racing event, will no longer be held at Raceway. The National Hot Rod Association, which runs the Summernationals, seemed very disappointed in Raceway's decision:

"Yesterday Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., informed NHRA that it will no longer host any drag racing events at its facility, effective immediately. This includes the 49th annual NHRA Summernationals, scheduled to take place this June," the National Hot Rod Association said in a statement they released.

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Raceway Park is about as close to Nascar-territory as New Jersey gets: It's technically located in Old Bridge Township, but the beautiful, rural farming country that surrounds the raceway looks more like the Deep South. Every year, thousands of people from across the tri-state area descend on Englishtown for the Summernationals and other car racing events.

The Napp family called it a "reorganization."

"Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the Napp family-owned and -operated business, announced today a reorganization of the company’s business operations," the company said in a statement on their website. "To achieve this goal, Raceway Park will no longer conduct quarter-mile or eighth- mile drag racing events effective immediately."

"It is with a great sadness that the Napp family is discontinuing drag racing, however the family looks forward to continuing to provide the best outdoor events in this new era of Raceway Park," they said. "The Napp family wishes to express their most sincere gratitude to the NHRA, and the many thousands of racers and fans, without whom would have never allowed Raceway Park to become the iconic and nationally recognized drag racing facility it has over the past five decades."

Image via Pixabay

New Year's Eve 2022 in the Manalapan and Englishtown area: Family fun at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.

Patch Staff

MANALAPAN-ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — The celebration of the holidays - in worship services, gatherings of family and friends and many other events - is now looking ahead to the New Year.

In the Manalapan and Englishtown area, you can find a variety of New Year's celebrations, such as a party at Bar Bella at Bell Works in Holmdel or a family event at iPlayAmerica in Freehold Township.

Here is a look at some events happening in the Manalapan and Englishtown area.

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

Find out what's happening in Manalapanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report.

There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse for gaining weight, for example, and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.