New Jersey school ethics law has become a gag order. It’s time to change it.

This article was originally published in NJ.com on June 8, 2026.

When the people of Alloway Township elected Gail Nazarene to their school board, she did what elected officials should do: she sought feedback from voters. In the modern public square of social media, Gail asked a simple question: “If taxes will need to be raised by 30% to keep the school open what is your opinion?”

She wanted her post to start a conversation. Instead, a fellow board member filed a complaint accusing her of violating New Jersey’s School Ethics Act. At first, Gail believed the complaint would be dismissed as frivolous. Gail, a Navy veteran, believed that the First Amendment surely trumped any ethics code that would prevent her from sharing her views with voters.

But days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, and the New Jersey School Ethics Commission still hadn’t dismissed the complaint. With each passing day, Gail became more concerned and decided to stop posting about school board issues to avoid another ethics complaint. She also decided it was time to reach out to a lawyer. That’s where my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, comes into this story.

Gail was right to be concerned. After researching how the School Ethics Act has been enforced in the past, we found that the state interprets the law very broadly. Under its interpretation, the state can punish a board member for discussing school taxes, budgets, or other school-related issues. This can happen if the board member mentions their role on the board, uses ordinary words like “we,” or does not include a disclaimer. Even when board members use disclaimers, the state has said they are insufficient.

Ethics laws should protect the public from corruption and abuse. They should not become gag orders.

The result is a system in which elected officials never know when speaking will result in punishment, and many choose to silence themselves rather than take that risk. Conversations that should be held in the open often move behind closed doors or do not happen at all, preventing parents from talking to school board members.

We also learned that Gail isn’t alone. The number of ethics complaints rose to over 100 in 2025, as the ethics law has become “a cudgel to silence dissent.” That’s a problem, and one that is particular to New Jersey. Our study found that New Jersey appears to restrict school board members’ speech more than any other state.

The state argues these rules are necessary to prevent confusion about who speaks for the board. But ordinary folks understand the difference between an official board decision and an individual board member’s opinion. No one believes a single board member’s Facebook post or an op-ed automatically represents the position of an entire school board.

LAWSUIT: New Jersey school board member silenced for asking constituents about a proposed tax increase

FIRE is suing the commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Education to stop censorship of an elected school board member who used social media to seek input from constituents.

Read More

More importantly, there are simpler ways to address any confusion that does exist, like clear disclaimers and public responses from the board. In other words: More speech, not less. Instead, New Jersey has chosen a blunt approach that discourages speech altogether.

With FIRE’s help, Gail is challenging the law in court. And her fight has led state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon to introduce legislation that would put an end to New Jersey’s system of school board representation without communication. It clarifies that the School Ethics Act cannot be used to prohibit a board member from speaking about school-related matters.

At a time when communities are already divided over many issues in our schools, New Jersey should be encouraging more open conversation, not less. Families deserve to know what their elected representatives think. Taxpayers deserve honest answers about how their money is spent. And school board members deserve to speak without fear that speaking with voters could trigger punishment.

Ethics laws should protect the public from corruption and abuse. They should not become gag orders. New Jersey should fix this law and let school board members freely exercise their First Amendment rights.