Data from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has revealed that - in just four years - the number of "non-binary" students in New Jersey public schools increased by 4,218%.
NJDOE figures indicated that the number of students identifying as "non-binary" in schools increased from 16 to 675 between 2019 to 2022.
Child development psychologist Leonard Sax told The Epoch Times that this exponential rise is a warning sign and pointed to the content and teaching methods offered in schools today as the cause:
If children grow up and are shown that a transgender or non-binary identity is normal, it will seem normal to them. Children are not born knowing what is normal and need to be taught. Almost every culture we have a record of has taught girls to be women and boys to be men. We don't do that. Instead, we undermine that. And the results are not good. And we are seeing an explosion of anxiety and depression among American children.
Non-binary people are those who claim that their gender identity does not conform to being male or female.
Exponential increase of non-binary students
State records reflect that in the 2019 - 2020 school year, a total of 16 students identified as non-binary in schools, of those, 10 were in high school. The youngest was in the second grade of primary school. By 2020 - 2021, the number had increased to 85 students . Two of them - the youngest - were in pre-kindergarten.
In 2021 - 2022, already 376 students were considered non-binary, eight of them were in pre-kindergarten.
With an increase of almost 50%, for the 2022 - 2023 school year, 675 non-binary students were reported. 41 were of them, were in fifth grade or below.
"More children with gender dysphoria."
Sax blames schools and indicated that new education standards will lead to more children being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, as children are taught that fluid gender is normal. He further stated that "problematizing gender identity is child abuse":
Problematizing gender identity is child abuse. It is causing children to be unsure of where they should be consistent. And it clearly leads to a much higher risk of anxiety and depression.
The state's educational guide includes a dictionary of words such as 'gender assigned at birth', 'binary gender', 'gender non-conforming' and 'gender transition.'
In the text, second graders are required to discuss "the variety of ways people express their gender and how gender role stereotypes can limit behavior."
By fifth grade, students should know the differences "between sexual orientation and gender identity." By eighth grade, schools must develop "a plan for the school to promote dignity and respect for people of all genders, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations in the school community."
