>> Tonight, repealing parental notification, the Hanover school board holds a meeting to propose a policy change as their case continues to play out in court.

>> Rather than come up with a transgender policy that passes legal muster they would rather have no policy at all.

>> Teen mental health crisis, feelings of sadness and thoughts of suicide on the rise of what can parents and teachers do to tackle this trend?

>> This is one moment when communication is everything.

>> Plus, COVID boosters are back in the FDA approves a new round of COVID-19 vaccine shots.

>> Any immunity from previous posters has worn off and we are in different territory with different variants.

>> Blocking the Baer Hunter, back resembled makers pleading to reject the new proposed hunt.

>> The mission is to hunt.

Their mission is to not save the bears.

>> NJ Spotlight News begins now.

>> Funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided by -- insurance group serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for 100 years.

Arising Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and by the -- foundation.

♪ [typewriter typing] >> From NJ PBS this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

Breanna: Thanks for joining us.

We begin at one of the latest hotspots for political slugfest and policy fights, a school board meeting in Hanover Township is aware education leaders held an emergency session Monday night amid ongoing litigation with the state Attorney General's office over there parental notification policy.

The marathon meeting went late into the night as parents and educators spoke out on both sides of the issue and it comes a week after the port appeared in court to defend their policy and are now removing it entirely.

While some say it diffuses what could be a contentious situation, others see it as a quick fix to get out of a lawsuit.

Joanna Gagis has more.

>> They basically decided that rather than come up with a transgender policy that passes legal muster, they would rather have no transgender policy at all.

>> He is referring to the Hanover school district that held a special meeting last night to undo its recent policy that would require educators to inform parents when a student came out to them in the same policy that landed them in court with the Attorney General's office.

>> Last night the school board voted unanimously to move the resolution to second reading to basically just resend the 57-56 transgender policy completely.

>> It is the state's guidance for school districts when it comes to how they handle transgender students and issues.

Sean Hyland from New Jersey family policy Center applauds the decision.

>> We are encouraged by it and we say the policy, transgender student guidelines are guidelines, not mandated by law.

It just gave the Commissioner of education the directive to make up the guidelines, simply guidance and not mandated policy that must be implemented in every single district.

>> He believes policies like this should be left local control.

>> The school board should have the policy where parents are notified and teachers well informed of what the responsible these are informing parents.

>> This Monmouth County parent who wants to stay un anonymous said if that had happened it would have robbed him of a beautiful moment between a father and daughter.

>> That moment when she came out to me was empowering, very empowering for me to know that my daughter had this much courage and felt safe around me to tell me.

That moment is huge.

I was happy that it came from my daughter who we already knew was headed down this path, you know.

We just had to hear it from her at that point.

>> He believes parents should talk to their own kids especially if they think they may be LGBTQ.

>> If you are a parent and accepting that your child, you will know, you will see the transition.

You will note that your child is going a different way.

If your child withholds information like this from you, I feel like that you as a pension should look deep on the inside and possibly find out why your child is withholding this information.

I don't think it is a school issue.

>> The Attorney General said in a letter to the court that moving forward without a policy that does not violate New Jersey law against discrimination would create a free-for-all and said the move is very telling and is an attempt to get out of the legal case.

We reached out to the Hanover district for comment but have not heard back.

He believes the goal is to keep this case moving through the courts.

>> The goal is to run it through the New Jersey court system and try to get it into the federal system and then bring it up to the Supreme Court, and frankly we know that these days when you go to the Supreme Court you have no idea what type of decision you will get.

>> One think that is clear is this fight is not going away anytime soon.

BRIANA: The tension around parental rights issues is adding to the inherent stressors for students as they return to school with the teen mental health crisis still on the rise.

According to the state Department of Health, nearly 6% of high school students and suicide in 2019 and in 2021, 18% made a suicide plan.

Those numbers are likely higher than what is being reported.

National data gathered by the CDC found an alarming number of students said they experience feelings of sadness and hopelessness, preventing them from taking part in their normal activities.

It is a lot for families and educators to tackle.

Dr. Frank Janowski has some ideas of the president and CEO of Rutgers University Behavioral HealthCare joins me now.

It is good to see you as always.

Let me start with I think what parents are thinking which is what can you do preventively before the year really gets underway to make sure that you have a pulse on your child's mental health?

>> I appreciate you asking.

This is one of those moments when communication is everything.

Keeping those lines of communication open, utilizing family channels, whether the traditional family meal or whether it is the regular chat if your student is somebody who has a rhythm around that, this is a time to reinforce that, and listening and looking for behaviors that are different, patterns of behavior that are different than what you are used to in your young adult or adolescent.

>> I mention some stark statistics at the top was it comes to teenage suicide and we know this epidemic is among us, but where do you think we stand in our public education system with how schools are reacting, and also tackling the issue, which you know a lot of times get spotted there before it does at home?

>> I know.

I think it is a very very challenging job, educating the youth of America, the educational system, you know, it is a wonderful wonderful service we have and those teachers and administrators have many tasks they do.

I think they do a wonderful job of looking for signs and symptoms and I believe they have done a good job more recently looking for those early kind of harbingers of behavioral changes and finally I would like to complement them on a growing effort to communicate with and collaborate with organizations across the system.

We are working closely with many schools across the state as are other institutions, and the state itself rolling out programs they are trying to bring behavioral health more into the realm of connection with youth and teachers.

Briana: I don't want to put words in your mouth but really maintaining mental health behavioral health services for students at schools, you see that as key?

>> I do.

I think embedding those services in a way that can be supportive of administrators and teachers and can be readily accessible to students as these early symptoms come up I agree with you, yes.

Briana: Let me ask you about bullying.There have been cases about it in the media and it is being shared widely on social media.

How does that factor in and what advice can you give to families about how to tackle that?

>> It is interesting.

Social media has now taken bullying that used to be a one to one issue or a few kids are children and now something where hundreds of people are involved.

We are looking to help individuals limit and balance the amount of time they use social media with other activities that include face-to-face activity, communal activity with friends that is actually real and in the room together, and helping them balance their perception with individual who are caring and to stay clear of sites where it is obvious that is happening.

Briana: Thank you so much for your time.

>> Thank you very much.

Always good to see you.

Briana: The FDA on Monday gave the green light for two updated COVID-19 booster shots for people as young as six months old, and a nationwide rollout of the newest vaccine is expected to start later this week out that a special advisory panel has signed off on who should get it, including any one immuno compromised, older Americans and those with chronic disease should be first in line, but the new boosters come with a caveat.

They are the first covert shots in the country that are not being paid for by the federal government.

Our Senior correspondent has the story.

>> I believe it is going to become similar to a flu shot.

Brenda: this pharmacist says even as the CDC considered this new 2023 Covid vaccine, drug makers readied boxes for shipments on the shots will probably arrive at your pharmacy within days, made by Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech, the rework formula targets current Omicron variants, now circulating in the U.S. Health experts recommend the new vaccine version.

>> What we are finding is any immunity you got from previous boosters has worn off and we are in different territory with new variants.

>> People's ability to fight infection drops away says this epidemiologist whether the immunity comes from a shot or prior case of COVID and the CDC emphasized COVID keeps evolving just like influencer.

>> I always say to anyone who does not want to have very severe COVID disease should also consider taking the booster much like we take a new flu vaccine every fall.

Brenda: public health officials point to a slow uptick in COVID hospitalizations, mostly in fence the elderly, facing a fall respiratory virus season come the FDA issuing an emergency authorization for everyone six months and older to get this new COVID shot.

>> Number one, does particularly at risk for being immunocompromised like my brother who has MS and those with underlying health conditions in those over 60, people who do not have the first booster, it will be extreme important for them to get this booster.

Brenda: this time around there is one big change the federal government will not buy all the shots and distribute them for free.

Pharmacies will pay upfront list prices of $120 to $130 a dose plus costs to administer the shot.

>> It looks like the Moderna vaccine was coming in between $140 and $155 per shot.

Brenda: the Biden administration will purchase some doses and drugmakers are expected to contribute free shots as well and insurance will pick up the cause for those with coverage.

>> Traditional Medicare and Medicare advanced plan said they will be paid as well.

>> Unfortunately we know that any barrier that impedes vaccination drops vaccine rates.

The easier you can make it, the more people will take it.

So it is a concern that we will likely not see as much of an uptick as we did when they were being handed out everywhere.

Brenda: less than 20% of the U.S. population opted to get the last booster and political divisions remain a factor in deciding who gets a shot in public experts fear because bearers could widen health care disparities more for folks without coverage.

>> Who will get sick and severely ill is going to be problematic because of some -- those same people who don't fall in those pockets are less likely to present at the hospital early meaning they will show up when symptoms are severe which decreases chance of survival.

Brenda: pharmacies expect many people will sign up for COVID and flu shots, one in each arm.

I am Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

>> Support for the medical report is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Briana: Follett continues from the Justice Department scathing report detailing how two state run homes failed its residents during the pandemic where more than 200 people died as the virus was allowed to tear through the homes virtually unchecked.

Republicans are blaming the Murphy administration for the lack of oversight and vault makers on both sides of the aisle are proposing legislative fixes for problems pointed out in the report.

Including dismantling the State Department that currently oversees the nursing homes.

Our Senior political correspondent reports.

>> In the waning days of the election year that has not been kind to Democrats, more bad news and a report last week from the DOJ blasting conditions at state-run veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus.

Republicans have pounced under calling for the legislature to reconvene to deal with the issue.

The ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- >> This is a crisis situation that needs to be addressed.

Um I don't know we can wait the full time for uh filed a response or say what they're going to do and I think along those lines as well is the fact that clearly there were people interfering with the Department of Justice doing their job and investigation following them around and trying to control the questioning and calling people back in and asking what they were asked.

That is not the way it should have been handled at all by the state.

>> As has been the case with other contentious issues in this political season offshore wind, schools, etc., some Democrats are joining the GOP counterparts and calling for more answers, including military and Veterans Affairs committee chairman Joe Brian who is not mincing words today.

>> It is offensive, appalling and we frankly need to do more than we have done.

Um I have a host of options I think are important to follow through.

The committee will be back at work in November I am sure to address this issue.

>> That is not soon enough says one Republican assembly member.

>> The Republicans were calling for investigative hearings throughout the pandemic and they never came to be, so I venture to say we should even meet for an emergency purpose.

If we are here right now in agreement, let's act on it.

One of my favorite expressions is "show me, don't tell me."

>> Governor Murphy gets some credit from his party for proposing some reforms over the past two, but the DOJ says things have not improved and have in some cases gotten worse.

Murphy said this week that there have been improvements but that there is still a ways to go.

>> It is something that Democrats have not fully come to terms with in the Republicans rightfully have taken them to task for it and continue to take them to task for it.

It is the latest example of Republicans being on the offense in the cycle.

>> He says there is widespread agreement on what actions can be taken.

>> The reality is it is well past time for a change in the military and Veterans Affairs, changes at the top, wholesale changes in the office needs to take a strong look at the folks leading it and make a decision.

I also think the legislature needs to proposing we need to pass an absolutely separate division of veteran services that takes nursing homes out of it.

>> What is not widely agreed on is the timeframe.

No official word on whether the legislature will convene before November's elections but nobody is putting it will happen as Republicans continue to claim the high ground from the minority party position, as they have been doing repeatedly all summer long.

I am David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: A Russian assassin serving a life sentence for murder in Germany has been suggested that someone President Vladimir Putin may be willing to swap for two Americans detained in Russia that includes the Wall Street Journal reporter in New Jersey native Evan Gershkovich who was detained in March by the FSB while on a reporting assignment and is being held on charges of espionage.

Now according to the Wall Street Journal, a top Western official involved in hostage diplomacy with the Kremlin said Putin is interested in trading only for the hitman, a 58-year-old covert operative link to Russian security services found guilty of killing a Chechen dissident and 2019 on behalf of the Kremlin.

President Biden said in July he was serious about a prisoner exchange for Gershkovich with Russia but many Government officials say while a deal involving the assassin as possible, it will also be difficult.

In our spotlight on business report it was a rough start of the day for a couple of thousand passengers on New Jersey transit after a northeast corridor train to rail during morning rush hour in Penn Station and no one was injured in the train stayed upright but it wreaked havoc on the commute causing lengthy delays so it is likely welcome news that shuttles could be in the ground by next month -- shovels could be on the ground by next month to start construction on the Gateway tunnel project.

Another phase of contracts were cleared Monday for the $16.1 billion two-truck tunnel under the Hudson River and the Gateway developing Corporation gave the go-ahead to build a highway bridge at the mouth of the tunnel entrance on the New Jersey side.

Three other construction phases are expected to begin for the end of the year.

The Hudson tunnel project has been hitting detours for years.

When it is complete, it will end the region's reliance on the crumbling tunnels built more than a century ago.

On Wall Street markets reacting to oil prices hitting their highest levels this year.

Here is how stocks closed.

♪ >> Support for the business report provided by, Newark alliance representing the future is Newark and policy for Street Festival September 14 in downtown Newark.

Event details online at policy Festival.com.

♪ Briana: The states annual black bear Hunt is poised for a comeback.

Now that the Fish and Game Council approved a plan allowing a regulated bear Hunt for the next five years until 2028, starting in less than a month.

The DEP is citing increased Bear activity in New Jersey and all the dangerous interactions that can come with it, but activists are calling it a flawed decision that goes against Governor Murphy's campaign promises to end it and now they are calling on him to step in and put a stop to it.

Ted Goldberg reports.

>> We have 30, 40, 50 houses broken into still in people waking up in the middle of the type finding a bear in their kitchen.

That is a dangerous situation.

>> Bears are best admired from a distance.

For people in north New Jersey the risk of a bear getting too close for comfort is all too real.

>> It is not uncommon for the Bears to tear off somebody's you know screen door and you know actually go into their house to grab something.

>> Assembly man Parker space has paved the Murphy administration for bringing back the bear Hunt after multi-year hiatus in a brief comeback last year.

Last week the state Fish and game Council voted to approve Baer Hunter for each of the next five years.

>> If we don't control them mother nature will and you have distemper, rabies of the different diseases, it is more animals in a certain area that can be sustained.

>> There is no purpose for the hunt this year and in fact the numbers this year are similar to what they were in 2021.

Only last year when people were pushing for it in the summer.

>>>> The number of bear-related damage and news reports according to state data has dropped 30% compared to last year's record highs and animal activists a the hunt is cruel and unnecessary, while sportsman say it is needed to keep a check on New Jersey's black bear population.

>> This is a good time to have a real bear management plan where you deal with garbage and educate the public how to live in bear country and bear-prepare properties.

>> If we don't control the garbage, birdfeeders, dumpsters, we will be attracting bears to residential neighborhoods.

>> It is a pie in the sky wish.

Towns have tried to stripping what they call bear-proof cans.

They don't work and people get frustrated.

>> Governor Murphy campaigned on ending the bear Hunt which is left activists angry.

>> Governor Murphy's nickname is really Governor Murphy bear killer because under his administration more bears will be killed than any other administration.

>> During a virtual news conference activists promise to withhold votes for Democrats if that the DEP Commissioner does not block the Baer Hunter.

>> The Bears get dismembered and we will remember in November and December.

>>>> It is a political message from voters asking New Jersey residents to stay home and not to vote for it come about for a green party or bright in a name as Yogi bear.

>> Republicans are terrible but the Democrats have done nothing, even some allies.

>> A former senator has a plan to stop the bear Hunt, suing the state, arguing the sportsmen's clubs of an unconstitutional number of members on the fish and game Council.

>> They don't care because they want a hunt.

There are six out of the 11 who are members of sportsmen's clubs in their mission is to hunt.

Their mission is not to save the Bears.

>> He considered bringing this lawsuit last year after the Baer Hunter was reinstated and says he needed to do some research and now he is ready to go to court.

>> Having never been raised in the state of New Jersey, but it has an other states throughout the country and federal government and very similar circumstances of that was the research I had to complete.

>> He has less than a month before the hunt starts.

♪ [INDISCERNIBLE] >> For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.

Briana: But will do it for us tonight.

Don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcaster you can listen anytime.

I am Briana Vannozzi for the entire NJ Spotlight News team, thanks for being with us and have a great evening and we will see you back here tomorrow.

>> The members of the New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJ Barnabas health, let's be healthy together, and Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term sustainable clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪ >> Look at these kids.

What do you see?

I see myself.

I became an ESL teacher to give my students what I wanted when I came to this country.

The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve, a chance to belong and to be un-American.

My name is Julia -- and I am proud to be a member.

♪