A growing number of North Jersey lawmakers are criticizing the state Board of Education’s controversial move to incorporate gender identity into the equity policy that applies to public school districts statewide. In a 6-5 vote on Aug. 2, the board narrowly approved several revisions to the state’s administrative code, which include removing a series of gendered terms and prohibiting districts from segregating sexual education classes based on biological sex. Additionally, transgender students will now be able to participate in traditionally gender-segregated school activities instead of being prohibited by their assigned gender at birth, according to the new guidelines. North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey’s public school teachers and school professional staff do not represent the diversity of the state’s students. In the school year that just ended, roughly 82% of teachers, administrators, supervisory and special services staff were non-Hispanic White, compared with a student population that was less than half that — 38.5% White — according to the analysis of fall survey and certificated staff data from the NJ Department of Education. NJ Spotlight News
Eighteen-year-old Robert Fisher will likely become the youngest elected official in New Jersey in January when he takes office as a member of the Park Ridge Board of Education. Fisher, who graduated high school in June, is unopposed in his bid for one of three seats on his local school board. Incumbents Deborah Clare and Lauren Sum are retiring; incumbent Natalie Agoos, Rachelle Browne and Fisher have no opposition in the November general election. New Jersey Globe
New Jersey voters can expect new reporting on vote tallies for future elections. Reporting would be periodically required until all eligible ballots had been counted and the election was certified beginning by 11:59 p.m. on the day of each primary and general election, and would be updated by 9 p.m. every day thereafter until the certification of the election. “In the past few years, we have witnessed attacks on our democracy across the country, resulting in the spread of [election] disinformation and misinformation,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “Our voters can be certain that we are working hard to make sure our elections are conducted in a way that bolsters public confidence in our democracy.” North-JerseyNews.com
Even if Donald Trump violated the Constitution when he pressured Mike Pence not to certify the results of the 2020 election, that doesn’t make it a crime, Trump’s lawyer claimed during a series of Sunday Morning News show appearances Aug. 6. “A technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law,” John Lauro, a lawyer for Trump, told NBC News. He also argued that Trump’s expression of concerns about election irregularities was protected speech under the First Amendment and Trump firmly believed that election irregularities had led to inappropriate results. “The government will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent, and that’s what this case is about,” Lauro then stated on ABC. The Wall Street Journal
Donald Trump blanked his social media platform, Truth Social, over the weekend with posts suggesting that his legal team was going to seek the recusal of Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the case, and try to move his trial out of Washington. His attack came after a judge warned Trump against intimidating witnesses and after prosecutors flagged another post by Trump as potentially threatening. On Sunday, Trump attacked Jack Smith, the special counsel in the Jan. 6 case, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) calling Smith “deranged” and Pelosi “sick” and “demented.” The New York Times
New Jersey is now the only state with full-service gas attendants, as Oregon revoked its 72-year-old ban on self-service gas stations over the weekend. Even as a full-service state, New Jersey often has lower gas prices than its neighbors, according to average prices compiled by AAA. Jersey prices for regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.73 a gallon this weekend compared with $3.90 in New York and $3.91 in Pennsylvania, according to the automobile association. The national average was $3.83 a gallon as of Sunday. The Wall Street Journal
Presidential hopeful Chris Christie made a surprise visit to war torn Ukraine Aug, 4 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The former New Jersey governor has been a vocal advocate for supporting Ukraine’s efforts to fight off Russia and has called the fighting “a proxy war with China.” The governor met privately with Zelensky in the nation’s capital Kyiv. NJ.com
Vice President Kamala Harris’s recent high profile appearances are her latest attempt to silence concerns about her job performance and reclaim the momentum that propelled her to Joe Biden side as a candidate and into the White House in 2020. In recent weeks, Vice President Harris has dashed off to Florida on short notice, sparring with the state’s conservative governor, Ron DeSantis, over how to teach slavery in schools. And she flew into Iowa to defend abortion rights while 13 Republican presidential candidates were having dinner a few miles away. The New York Times
Two conservative groups are asking a federal court to block the Biden Administration’s plan to cancel $39 billion in student loans for more than 800,000 borrowers. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 4 in Michigan, New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Cato Institute argue that the administration overstepped its power when it announced the forgiveness in July, just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down a broader cancellation plan pushed by President Joe Biden. It asks a judge to rule the cancellation illegal and stop the Education Department from carrying it out while the case is decided. News12 New Jersey
Fights over artificial turf being are being waged across New Jersey as some residents raise concerns about the environmental, health and safety costs of ripping out natural grass. Maplewood residents successfully petitioned in 2021 to put a $1.8 million bond ordinance for artificial turf at DeHart Park in Essex County up to vote. The project was ultimately defeated at the polls. A similar fight is underway in Ridgewood in Bergen County, where residents are gathering names on a petition to block an artificial turf field from being built on a historic property where George Washington allegedly once stayed. NJ.com
Weehawken officials are continuing to flout state regulations and play by their own rulebook for how to operate its state-funded municipal pool, and they are unashamedly ecstatic with the results. The town eliminated day passes — which state officials say is illegal — for the state-of-the art pool complex after an overflow crowd on Memorial Day. The Jersey Journal
And finally…The Mega Millions jackpot hits a record $1.55 billion for the next drawing. The Record
