Senator Anthony M. Bucco (R-25) issued the following statement in response to complaints filed yesterday by Attorney General Matt Platkin against the Middletown, Marlboro, and Manalapan school districts over new parental notification policies they adopted this week:

“Kids do best when parents and teachers work together to support them. When the Murphy administration tries to interfere in that important relationship, kids suffer. We should encourage schools to communicate more with parents, not sue to stop them. It might take a village to raise a child, but that always must include the parents. Government bureaucrats are no substitute.

“When it comes to facing these tough issues, we believe it is best for local school boards, parents, and teachers to come together to find a solution that fits their community. Heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all mandates from Trenton are what got us into this mess in the first place. That’s why my Republican colleagues and I have put forward our own Parental Bill of Rights, which unfortunately was tabled earlier this week by the Democratic Majority in Trenton.

“Instead of threatening to slash funding to school districts for improving their communication with parents, the Murphy administration should focus on restoring the approximately $50 million of school aid that will be cut from classrooms across New Jersey this fall.”