Fourth Legislative District, August 11, 2023 – GOP State Senate candidate Chris Del Borrello and State Assembly running mates Matt Walker and Amanda Esposito today unveiled their “5-Point Contract with South Jersey Parents” today, that they say expresses their priorities on empowering parents, removing far-left political indoctrination from our schools, and restoring respect for law enforcement, if elected this November.

·       Support legislation similar to what has been sponsored and introduced by Senators Bucco (R-25) and Corrado (R-40), that requires, among other things, parents to receive a summary of the curriculum to be taught to their child in the current school year; review the curriculum to be taught to their child in the current school year; and opt their child out of any curriculum that the parent or guardian believes is in conflict with their conscience or sincerely held moral or religious beliefs. “Parents should always be at the center of their child’s education and that requires a high-level of transparency between school districts and parents when it comes to curriculum being taught in the classroom,” said Del Borrello, the father of four. “Even better, by electing a career educator like Amanda Esposito to the Assembly, we can take legislation like this and make sure the final version of it works for parents and teachers, who need to have a cooperative, open relationship.”

 ·       Block Attorney General Matt Platkin’s insane anti-parent directive that prohibit teachers and school staff from notifying parents if their child chooses to exhibit a change in his or her gender identity, or when students request a public social transition accommodation, such as a name or pronoun change, or a bathroom, locker room, club, or sports accommodation. “As a public-school teacher, I find this extremely troubling,” said Esposito, who will be a teacher at Pitman High School this fall.  “Forcing teacher’s keep secrets from parents about their own children flies in the face of common sense and certainly is not something the vast majority of teachers I know would be comfortable doing.”

 ·       Support legislation sponsored by Senator Michael Testa (R-1) that prohibits biological boys from playing competitive middle and high school sports against biological girls.  Student athletes would be required to participate in sports based on their biological gender, not their gender identity. “This is an issue of competitive fairness and safety,” said Walker, a father and grandfather.  “As children mature, and certainly by the time they are in middle school and high school, allowing boys, who are bigger, faster, and stronger than girls, to compete against each other should not be allowed.”

 ·       Repeal the dangerous anti-parent, anti-police legislation that police, local mayors, and business owners are blaming for out-of-control drinking, drug use, fighting, property destruction, and theft by teens in local towns, particularly along the Jersey Shore.  The law, which was passed by Democrats in Trenton, allows people under 21 to simply walk away from a police officer who is questioning them about marijuana or alcohol use. Even worse, the police officers themselves can face charges if they persist in questioning the minor.  “These are the kinds of radical laws coming out of Trenton under one-party, Democratic rule,” said Walker.  “I support reforms that strive to make our justice system equal, fair, and color blind; but as the father of a police officer, I know that 99.9% of our police officers are good, decent, brave, and honorable men and women who put their lives on the line for us each day.  When we pass laws that disempower them – effectively handcuffing them from doing their job – all of us are at risk.”

·       Defend and maintain the ability for parents to claim a religious exemption from childhood vaccinations and oppose any efforts to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for New Jersey’s public-school children. “Collectively, we all recognize that advances in modern science have helped to extend and improve the health and lives of Americans over the past century, but that fact should not give license to politicians to further erode the rights of parents to make healthcare decisions for their own children,” said Del Borrello, Walker and Esposito, in a joint statement.  “Moreover, given the infinitesimal risk from COVID-19 to children under the age of 18, there should never be a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination required for a student to enroll in school in New Jersey.”