meanwhile there's also an increase in attacks against the lgbtq plus community and their rights prompting the Biden Administration to announce new actions to protect the basic rights and freedoms including the appointment of a new federal coordinator to address the increase in book bans being implemented throughout the country the announcement comes as more school districts here in Jersey are planning final votes on Parental notification policies which requires school officials to inform parents about their children's sexual orientation or gender identity Hanover Township and Morris County passed such a policy in May but the Attorney General quickly filed a Civil Rights Campaign over the Township's policy and has said he will sue any District that puts one of these policies in place senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has more on the debate that has brought mixed reaction from both sides we are the front line of defense for our children as their parents we need to be aware of any and all issues that impact their well-being with that Whippany parent Ellen High summarized the parental rights movement that's pushing some New Jersey school boards to pass new and controversial policies requiring students sexual orientation or gender identity get reported to families it deliberately defies State guidance that protects the privacy of lgbtq students if the school staff is going to keep secrets from us about things affecting our children then we cannot trust that they have our children's best interests at heart we're not in the business of secret keeping we're in the business of serving kids needs Jessica Smedley chairs Jersey school Counselors Association she's alarmed that several School boards including Colts Neck Marlboro and Middletown have scheduled votes on Parental notification she says counselors already follow a duty to warn law that requires us to disclose information about a student's safety and wellness if someone is hurting them if they're hurting themselves or you know say they're going to hurt themselves or they're going to hurt somebody else and other than that everything else that a student discusses with their school counselor is and should be held sacred being lgbtq in this current environment is stressful full stop for adults for kids and sometimes it is our families at home that are the biggest threat to our emotional and physical and psychological well-being Celeste for your story chairs the trans affirming Alliance and warns outing lgbtq and trans kids could have dire consequences especially if schools report families who retaliate to Child Protective Services forces you to stay in the closet forces you not to be a full version of yourself and then to have child protective services then involved in your family and your life how does that help a child a lot of students are do not feel safe they don't feel safe expressing themselves counselor Gary Nelson says kids need protection to explore their sexual identity when there is no safe place for a person to turn this is where this is where we start to see the students with that sense of hopelessness back in May Hanover's Board of Education adopted a policy specifically targeting lgbtq students New Jersey's attorney general immediately filed a civil rights complaint after a Morris County Judge temporarily blocked Hanover's policy the board revised it this week to address any of the concerns raised by the judge the Hanover Township Board of Education policy committee substantially revised policy 8463 the revised policy requires parents be informed whenever a student discloses an issue and or exhibits behaviors that may have an adverse impact on the student's physical and or mental health safety and or social and emotional well-being adding lgbtq issues alone can't motivate parental notification several concerned parents chastised the board your policy's only purpose is for lgbtq students to be singled out it does not offer assistance such as counseling but instead takes an already vulnerable population outs them and then sends them home to their potentially unsupportive families Hanover's attorney sent the judge a letter stating the revised policy makes the Attorney General's lawsuit moot or irrelevant but that's not at all clear the Attorney General refused to comment and noted both sides will meet in court next week I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news [Music]