“I’m here in response to an invitation I saw on social media — to come tonight and share how I would like to see the district handle Policy 5756,” said Cara Brooks — a Medford, N.J. parent — during the town’s Board of Education meeting on Feb. 24, referring to a statewide guideline that protects trans students.
Brooks attended the meeting after Kristen Sinclair, who serves on Medford Township’s Board of Education, posted a political message about it on Facebook. Sinclair, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has served on the Board of Education since 2023 despite claiming the board is a “pretense,” called on like-minded followers to flood the meeting in opposition of policy 5756.
“I would love to hear from parents on how they would like to see the district handle these matters…” reads one tame line from the post. “I would love to hear from you, Medford. What do you want for your community? For your child?”
But her question backfired.
“I’ll tell you what I want for my community and my children,” Brooks responded at the meeting. “I want exactly what the state of New Jersey has accomplished with this policy — respect and autonomy for kids.”
The guidelines which developed into Policy 5756 evolved from a law signed by former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and were described by the ACLU of New Jersey as simply “reiterat[ing] the statutory and constitutional protections afforded to transgender students.”
They state that schools should accept a student’s asserted gender identity, chosen name and pronouns. This applies even if that student’s guardian does not know about the changes or disapproves. Schools are directed to have a confidential conversation with students about their preferences for communications with home, and parental disclosure is suggested only if a student’s health or safety is at risk. This prevents staff from preemptively outing trans kids to their guardians but does not prevent them from sharing this information if it becomes pertinent.
Three Monmouth County school districts attempted to implement an opposite policy in 2023 — a policy that would require school staff to notify a student’s guardian if the student changes their name, pronouns or other gender markers at school. But a judge prevented this. The New Jersey Court of Appeals recently upheld that injunction, noting that opposite policies would be discriminatory and would have caused irreparable harm to trans students. The ruling included a specific note that students are at risk for immediate family members inflicting physical or emotional harm.
The New Jersey Court of Appeals ruling also states that Policy 5756 grants parents access to student files, including records that may reveal a student’s trans identity, requires staff to respond truthfully when asked about a student’s gender identity, and does not limit a parent’s ability to make medical decisions for their child. The ruling plainly states that Policy 5756 does not violate parental rights.
Although the ruling has been lauded as a victory, the court also stated that school districts are not required to follow guidelines set in Policy 5756. They’re now more overtly permitted to amend the policy — as long as an amendment upholds New Jersey’s anti-discrimination laws — or rescind the policy altogether. Sinclair hopes to repeal it in Medford.
“Keep policy 5756 so no one calls you a transphobe! That’s more important than anything,” she wrote in another post sharing a video that accuses trans women of being bathroom predators — one of multiple posts that promotes misinformation.
Sinclair, who claimed in a Facebook post that 40 districts have now overturned the policy, is part of a movement of parents attempting to overturn the policy district by district. She’s highly active on social media — often posting multiple times per day, clinging to inaccurate statements about parental rights and manipulating language about mental health in an attempt to support misinformation.
Sinclair — who snarkily referred to the parents of trans kids by name in her public Facebook posts — has referred to the high suicide rates and mental health challenges of trans youth as a crutch for her arguments. But a recent study shows that anti-trans laws are a top reason for these mental health concerns, with suicide rates increasing up to 72% when they’re enacted.
However, when Brooks attempted to call out Sinclair’s use of her social media platform as a place for propaganda, the school board’s lawyer claimed that Brooks’ comments about Sinclair’s posts was an “attack.”
Sinclair’s efforts failed to inspire a strong turnout for the opposition at the Feb. 24 meeting. Just one of her supporters — a parent who lives in Cinnaminson, a district 25 minutes away from Medford — spoke against Policy 5756. And even that person noted the importance of practicing discretion when considering parental notification.
“Parents play such an integral part of the relationship in schools, and it’s important that you include parents in everything — every aspect,” they said. “Of course, you’re going to have discretion if you think the child may be harmed in some way, and I think that would already be taken into consideration.”
Just three of approximately 40 attendees in the standing-room only meeting clapped for that speech, which advocated for the policy’s repeal. Most of the meeting’s attendees were there to support Policy 5756 instead.
“I was not the first person my child came out to,” said Beth — whose trans child is a young adult who went through school in Medford. “A lot of the time, friends, siblings or other trusted people may be who they go to first.”
Beth underlined that trans people are especially vulnerable in today’s political climate and deserve both compassion and protections to ensure they can live a life without shame and fear.
Another parent of a trans child who preferred not to be identified said that even though her household is “fully supportive” and affirming, she was not even one of the first dozen people he told about his trans identity.
“He had a whole group of friends,” she said, “and they were all using different pronouns for him the whole summer before he finally came to me and was like, ‘Mom, I got it right.’”
She underlined that Policy 5756 is about safety — as it preserves privacy which reduces a student’s risk for suicide or harm at home.
“New Jersey seems like a ‘safe’ state in the face of the Trump administration,” said Zac Wilson — a parent who attended the meeting because he’s concerned about the local response to anti-trans actions at the federal level. “But it comes down to local councils and boards of education to be the bulwark against the bigotry coming from this administration.”
Wilson stated during the meeting that families place a lot of trust in teachers — expecting them to care for their children and even put their lives on the line in order to preserve their safety. He emphasized the importance of trusting teachers and administrators who might assess a situation and make the determination that parental disclosure would do more harm than good for a specific student.
That kind of harm “occurs every day in this country, every day in this state, and — if you rescind protections like this, it will occur in this town,” he said.
Parents aren’t sure when the policy will be placed on the school board’s agenda to address with a formal discussion and vote — but they know it’s coming.
Sinclair, who has appeared on Fox News attacking various school-wide initiatives that promote student safety — including masking during the height of the pandemic, has stated on Facebook that she’s yet to decide whether she’s running for re-election this year. She currently serves alongside at least two other alt-right conservatives, Alexa Folsom and Lauren Caffery, who are likely to align their votes with hers.
Nine members serve in total, including various who have decades of experience advocating for students in the district.
Sinclair is not the only far-right conservative gaining attention in Medford. The quiet, rural town landed in the news after resident Stephanie Hazelton, who also goes by Ayla Wolf and Paris Polk, participated in the Jan. 6 riots — leading an assault on Capitol police that she described in her own videos as a battle.
Just a few weeks ago, Medford was back in the news when a controversial town council meeting quickly devolved into a circus of name-calling and arguments.
Although those messages coming from Medford feel anything but hospitable, this recent turnout on Feb. 24 shows that there is strong support for LGBTQ+ students in town — and many of those gathered believe the Board of Education is ready to prove that its schools can be a welcoming and inclusive place.
“As long as we continue to uphold the current guidance provided by the state of New Jersey, we can keep moving forward as a community focused on caring for one another,” Brooks said at the meeting. “I have a lot of confidence in this board to make the responsible choice and not attempt to repeal this policy.”