I’m working on a story about Montgomery County’s school bus stop-arm ticketing program. If you or someone you know has experience with this program (either positive or negative), I’d love to connect. I want to hear from all sides in order to paint the fairest and most accurate picture possible.
This disturbing post is from an educator who attended the National Education Association (NEA) annual conference, the Representative Assembly (RA), held this year in Portland, Oregon, July 3rd - July 6th. Our Montgomery County MCEA union belongs to the NEA. Jewish educators are grappling with this new reality as they begin to confront the antisemitism in the NEA.
In a statement Friday, Montgomery County police confirmed Sgt. Mark Burhoe, of Mount Airy, had been arrested by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office...
Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson knows that school administrators “should be thrilled that parents want to be involved” in their children’s education.
Bulson also knows that there can be a point when parents get too involved, acknowledging the potential administrative burden of trying to anticipate everything that a parent might find objectionable in the classroom...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-ruling-not-final-070446901.html
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory Friday to Montgomery County parents who object, for religious reasons, to the school system’s use of LGBTQ+-themed books in classrooms, saying parents should be allowed to opt their children out of such classes.
The 6-3 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor sent the case back to lower courts for a full hearing, but the majority left little doubt where it stands on the issue, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the court that the parents have “shown that they are very likely to succeed in their free exercise” of religion claims.
“The Board’s introduction of the LGBTQ+-inclusive” storybooks into the literature curriculum, along with its decision to deny opt-outs as it does for other topics, “places an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion,” Alito wrote.
“The Board should be ordered to notify them [parents] in advance whenever one of the books in question or any other similar book is to be used in any way and to allow them to have their children excused from that instruction,” the majority opinion said. Alito was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
In a sharp, 38-page dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor — joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — said the majority’s ruling would create “chaos” for the nation’s public schools, which will be required to “provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs.”..
Why it matters: D.C. Public Schools used to let principals allow families to delay enrollment, especially if a child has developmental concerns.
The big picture: The pivot has enraged a group of upper Northwest parents, who are pushing the D.C. Council to step in.
Zoom in: In the past, D.C. occasionally let some kids with birthdays close to the kindergarten cutoff wait a year to enroll — or redshirt. It meant that newly minted 6-year-olds could start school a whole year older than newly minted 5-year-olds.
"This has been so stressful," one parent who wishes to remain anonymous to protect their child's identity tells Axios.
In WSBTV.com. Read the whole story here.
ATLANTA — The 2025 school year in Georgia will start in August and this time, it’s bringing back an older lesson plan for its newer students.
Starting in August, third through fifth graders will have lessons on how to write in cursive, also called script.
When students return to classrooms after summer break ends, the Georgia Department of Education will begin cursive writing courses for public school students.
The instruction was added as part of the updated English Language Arts Standards curriculum for the 2025-2026.
As part of the move to teach cursive again, the GaDOE put out a guidance packet for parents to help with the handwriting courses.
From the Guidance Packet:
Overview of Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts Standards
Handwriting, a basic tool for life, assists with the development of both fine motor skills and working memory skills; automatic handwriting skills facilitate active learning and efficient communications (Georgia Department of Education, 2024).
Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards are intentionally designed to provide a strong literacy foundation beginning in the early grades. In addition to the K-12 domains of Practices, Texts, and Language, the K-5 grade band also includes the Foundations domain. The big ideas within this domain include (I) Phonological Awareness, (II) Concepts of Print, (III) Phonics, (IV) Fluency, and (V) Handwriting.
Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards require students in kindergarten through fifth grade to learn to communicate effectively through reading and writing using print and cursive handwriting.
Georgia’s K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards introduce cursive writing in the third grade. In fourth and fifth grade, students continue cursive handwriting practice to build fluency and automaticity in handwriting to communicate effectively. Research indicates that students need at least two years of instruction to automatize a handwriting process (Wolf, Abbott, & Berninger, 2016) and that automatized handwriting significantly improves the quantity and quality of students’ writing (Van Cleave, 2020). The goal is for students to read and write in cursive fluently and automatically. By automatizing these transcription processes, students free up their working memory, allowing them to focus on higher-level writing skills."
His contract in Nashville was bought out. According to media reports, Joseph was criticized for not properly handling multiple sexual harassment complaints made not against him but against other employees, and for securing no-bid contracts.
Some of those who filed sexual harassment complaints sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Joseph resisted calls for him to resign in December 2018.
Nashville board members spoke for and against Joseph at a meeting in April 2019, where his separation agreement was announced...
Former Montgomery County Student Member of the Board of Education Matt Post has reportedly accepted a position at the Maryland Education Associate (MEA) General Counsel's office.
The bill, originally sponsored by Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard), calls on the Maryland Center for School Safety, a unit within the Maryland Department of Education, to meet with members of every local school system in the state and evaluate the security infrastructure currently in place. The center will also be required to evaluate “widely accepted” methods that are available but not currently used by school systems, analyze software that can be integrated with security cameras and study the use of metal detectors, even handheld devices, at school entrances.
The center will have to present an interim report to legislative leaders as well as to the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee by Dec. 1, 2025. A final report would be due by Dec. 1, 2026...
For Immediate Release: Friday, June 6, 2025
Gaithersburg, MD – A 13-year-old, three 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old have been arrested and four stolen vehicles have been recovered following a collision that occurred at the intersection of Heathfield Drive and Parkland Drive on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 4th District and Special Assignment Team responded to the location for the report of a collision, where multiple teenagers were seen running from the area.
When officers arrived on scene, they located three vehicles idling, but unoccupied. All three vehicles, one Kia and two Hyundais, were determined to be stolen.
While on scene of the collision, officers observed a dark colored Kia speed away from the area with multiple people inside. The Kia stopped at Weller Road and five teenagers were seen getting out. Officers were able to quickly determine that the vehicle had been reported stolen.
All five teens were apprehended and taken into custody without incident. Upon their arrest, they were found to be in possession of items of evidentiary value, including knives and tools used to break into cars.
The teens were transported to the 4th District, charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and released to their guardians.
# # #
Release ID: 25-258
Media Contact: CTDurham
Categories: arrest , vehicle-theft
Documents detailing accommodations for hundreds of students with disabilities at Montgomery Blair High School were recently released on the Silver Spring school’s counseling web page, potentially giving all students and staff members access to the documents, according to screenshots of the incident provided to Bethesda Today on June 5.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) spokesperson Liliana López said in a Monday emailed statement to Bethesda Today that the district was aware of “a possible release of data” and was “proceeding in accordance with legal requirements.”
“This includes conducting a comprehensive investigation, submitting required reports to the state’s Attorney General, and providing notification to those impacted and to the wider community,” López said...
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/06/13/mcps-student-privacy-montgomery-blair/
In the upcoming school year, Montgomery County's Alternative Education Program, which is for students who need extra support outside of their regular schools, will be run in a holding school that's between two Rockville neighborhoods: Manor Lake and Flower Valley. Some neighbors said they are worried about safety, and what they call a lack of transparency from Montgomery County Public Schools.
“It’s a huge shock to the whole Blair community,” Montgomery Blair High School student Alex Gomez-Ordonez said. “This is an outrage because why are you deporting students. The students have the right to stay. They’re trying their best for their future to have an education, and it’s very wrong for them to be deported.”
Students marched on the bus loop in front of the school for nearly an hour, chanting and holding signs...
A second suspect, who is a juvenile and B-CC High student, was also arrested and charged with firearm-related charges after the incident. Park police did not release the juvenile’s identity or other details. According to charging documents, Blanco and the juvenile were identified after school officials reviewed video footage that was taken of the incident...
