Lawmakers in New Jersey are considering legislation that would ban textbooks that are not in a database approved by radical homosexual and transgender activists, sparking alarm about religious liberty and government indoctrination of children.
The proposal, dubbed S1512, would force the state Department of Education to maintain a list of textbook publishers that include “inclusive material” in their products. However, “inclusive material” does not include being inclusive of people of faith who reject LGBT propaganda in the classroom.
Critics blasted the legislation, warning that it threatens religious freedom, strips parental rights, silences First Amendment-protected freedoms, shatters the innocence of children, forces divisive indoctrination into the class, and represents taxation without representation.
Parents and faith leaders are also warning that the legislation would encourage bullying of children who come from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim homes. By teaching that there is something wrong with those who consider homosexuality sinful and believe that there are only two genders, the schools would stigmatize and demonize children from religious homes, critics warned.
Under the bill, local schools districts would be stripped of their authority to purchase textbooks that did not include “diversity” in “such areas as gender, … gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation.” In other words, books that do not peddle homosexuality or gender confusion would be banned from school.
“This legislation will force publishing companies and textbook authors to elevate sexual attractions and gender identities in their publications in order to be approved by the state of NJ to sell books to your school district,” explained Director of Advocacy Shawn Hyland with the Family Policy Alliance before urging parents to get involved in the fight.
“Elected school board members, in collaboration with parents serving in curriculum committees, should decide what is best for their community — not the all-encompassing overreach of state government,” Hyland added in an email to activists. “Education is best left to local school boards and parents.”
Conservative grassroots groups across the state are gearing up to fight the bill, too. The Morris Patriots of Northern New Jersey, for instance, sent out an e-mail alert over the weekend including Family Policy Alliance’s warning and urging activists to reach out to legislators to stop the bill before it comes up on November 16 at noon.
“There is no longer religious freedom in NJ when school boards will be mandated to purchase and students will be mandated to read textbooks that normalize LGBTQ behavior,” the Morris Patriots organization said in its mass email encouraging N.J. activists to get involved.
Another group fighting back is Team PYC – Protect Your Children, which has been organizing people of faith all across the state to stand up for religious liberty and against anti-Christian indoctrination in public schools.
In an email about the legislation, Team PYC urged those who value parental rights to prevent the far-left from transforming the state with radical LGBT legislation and tax-funded propaganda targeting children.
The group also warned about another piece of legislation in New Jersey, S2781, set to be considered next month. It would order schools districts to “provide instruction” on “diversity” in sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
Among other concerns, Team PYC, which is active across the state, blasted the idea of teaching a 10-year-old child that children should get a sex-change or that it is normal to have “fluid ever changing sexuality or identity.” And yet that is coming, with these bills paving the way.
“The Inclusion Bill (if passed into law) will mandate changing terms and definitions and that is 100% going against the HOLY WORD of GOD how God has made man and woman, not a combination of the two,” explained Victoria Jakelsky, state director for Team PYC.
The extremism that has engulfed New Jersey schools and lawmakers in recent years is getting worse. And it is hardly limited to New Jersey. The consequences will be devastating. Americans across the nation must take action, or it will be all downhill from here.
This article originally appeared at FreedomProject Media and is reprinted here with permission.
