Christie Vetos Sociological Strip Search Bill

file photo via nj.gov

Governor Chris Christie yesterday vetoed S454/A2421, the bill we’ve been fighting for years that would have allowed public schools to ask students intrusive personal questions about themselves and their family members without written parental consent.

In his veto message, Christie said:

This bill allows students of any age to participate in voluntary surveys, including those inquiring about sexual behavior and attitudes, if schools send prior written notice to their parents or guardians. The bill provides that the failure of a parent or guardian to respond to such notice shall be treated as affirmative approval of their child’s participation.

I recognize that surveys may help identify serious issues affecting students. However, this bill imprudently decreases parental involvement in a child’s educational development. I believe a parent or guardian’s legitimate interest to make an informed decision before their child is exposed to sensitive content outweighs the desire to make survey administration moreconvenient.

Accordingly, I herewith return Senate Bill No. 454 (FirstReprint) without my approval.

Thank you Governor Christie

Save Jersey has the news of the other bills Christie took action on yesterday.

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Sociological Strip Search Bill Passes Assembly, Scheduled For Senate Vote Today

New Jersey Public Schools are on the verge of becoming part of the government’s domestic spying apparatus.  If the NSA misses something while going through your phone calls and emails, they will have the questionnaires your children fill out in school to fall back on, if the Sociological Strip Search bill passes, as amended by the Assembly last week, and is signed into law by Governor Christie.

In case you’ve missed our previous coverage of this proposed law, it authorizes schools to conduct intrusive surveys into the lives of students without parental consent.   The bill, A/2421 in the Assembly and S/454 in the Senate, amends a current law passed in 2001 that requires written parental consent before school can question students about:

mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student or the student’s family;

 illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior;

critical appraisals of other individuals with whom a respondent has a close family relationship;

legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;

income, other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under a program;

The educational establishment uses the information mined from the surveys to apply for federal money.  Not enough parents are providing written consent, like they do for field trips and extracurricular programs, so the ‘educators’ and the companies and non-profits that sell drug abuse and anti-bullying programs to the schools, want to replace written parental consent for the children to be subject to the intrusion with simple parental notification.  They are counting on parents not taking the affirmative action of objecting to the surveys, thereby giving ‘negative consent.’

The bill passed the Assembly last week, largely along partisan lines.  Four Republicans, Mary Pat Angelini, Betty Lou DeCroce , John Amodeo and Chris A. Brown voted with the Democrats to pass the bill.  Today it goes back to the Senate for a second reading to concur with the amendments the Assembly made.  The bill originally passed the Senate 25-15 in February.

Contact your Senator and ask her/him to vote NO today.  Contact Governor Christie and ask him to veto the bill if/when it gets to his desk.

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Making a Good Bill Bad

The Question is: Why?

By Carolee Adams, President, Eagle Forum of New Jersey

In 2001, former NJ State Assemblyman Scott Garrett (now Congressman R-5) and State Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39) worked with Eagle Forum of New Jersey, Ridgewood parents, and others to stop nosy, intrusive student surveying of their children without “written, informed, parental consent”. That meant a parent had to, not only be “notified” of such surveys that could be administered to their children, but to be able to review that survey in advance and signify, in writing, with their signature, if they approved or not. It’s as simple as that – akin to a parent giving written consent for a school trip after being satisfactorily advised about the complete details of that trip.

However, over and over again since the 2002-3 legislative session, state legislators have sought to remove “written, informed, parental consent” from the exceptional language used in the 2001 Bill reverting back to only “notification”. “Notification” only used pre-2001 was the reason why “written, informed, parental consent“ was sought! Ridgewood parents claimed they never received “notification”; would never have signed off on such a survey had they been able to review it; and they justifiably sued – twice – and won based upon violations of a student’s rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and even Fourteenth Amendments.

In testimony, among many other factors presented in writing, I reminded Assembly Education committee members of those historic suits, and how costly to local Boards of Education and the State should a parent claim s/he did not receive notification and, consequently, did not grant express written permission. Even though one Assemblyman claimed how he wanted more “proactive” parental involvement, all but one Committee member was, obviously, foolishly satisfied or unconcerned with the sponsors’ assurance of “notification” only.

Further, and not publicly aired, in private conversation with one Republican Assembly member of the committee, an aid commented to me that Municipal Alliances favored the Bill; they needed money for their drug/alcohol abuse programs, etc. When I responded: “Do you mean you would disrespect parental rights and sacrifice a student’s privacy for money,” she and her Assembly member walked away from me prior to a vote of “yes” to approve the Bill and move it out of Committee. Only Assemblyman Scott Rumana voted “No”.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Questions for your kids

UPDATE:

The Senate Education Committee approved the bill along a party line vote.  Democrats Teresa Ruiz, Shirley Turner and James Beach voted yes. Republicans Diane Allen and Michael Doherty voted no.

Your children and grandchildren will be asked the following questions in surveys taken at public schools, without parental consent, if a bill, S454, is passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor:

Are you bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, or not sure?

Have you had sex with males or females, or males and females?

Do you use contraception when you have sex?

How many people have you had sex with?

Die you drink or do drugs before having sex?

The survey explains that a child could become so depressed about the future that they may consider suicide, and goes on to query:

Have you seriously attempted suicide?

Do you plan to attempt suicide?

How many times have you attempted suicide in the past?

A similar bill was killed in the State Assembly after a huge public outcry last June.  Now its back, this time in the Senate.

Call NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney: 

(856) 251-9801 (West Deptford)

(856) 455-1011 (Bridgeton)

(856) 339-0808 (Salem)

Call the Members of the New Jersey Senate Education Committee:

Ruiz, M. Teresa – Chair   (973) 484-1000

Turner, Shirley K. – Vice-Chair (609) 530-3277

Allen, Diane B. (609) 239-2800

 Beach, James  (856) 429-1572

Doherty, Michael J. (He will vote NO!; Thank him.) (908) 835-0552

We defeated this only last June – and it’s back again!

Will be discussed in the Senate Education Committee Today.  

Thanks for Eagle Forum of New Jersey President Carolee Adams for staying on top of this issue.

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