Senator Joe Pennacchio issued the following statement regarding the Murphy Administration’s continued assault on parental rights after a new FDU poll revealed the majority of New Jerseyans say parents should have control over what’s taught in schools.

“For years this administration and its democrat accomplices in the State Legislature have continued to interject themselves in what is a moral and constitutional right of parents to raise their children and to be the ultimate source to determine what is in their best interest. Under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the state has positioned itself as the ultimate arbiter. While the administration is focused on stripping away the rights of parents, test scores have dramatically declined and the state offers no plan to address this pressing problem.

“The state is now using children as pawns in a political chess game and it is causing anxiety and depression among some of our greatest students. The objectionable curriculum proposed by the administration is metastatic, affecting all grades and all subjects. While the state attorney general is forcing schools to adopt their guidelines, it is also telling courts these guidelines are not mandatory, further adding to the confusion.

“The top down approach from Trenton, understandably, elicited a visceral response from parents, the likes that which we have never seen before. The objections to the state strong-arming its controversial curriculum transcends all political parties. One only needs to look at the passion of local school boards to see how the parents have responded. Their request is simple, ’stay away from our kids.’”