xMINDS: Major Cuts to MCPS Autism Services - Autism Unit Reduced by half

REDUCTIONS IN AUTISM-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE RAISE CONCERNS

As Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor enters his second year and Dr. Margaret Cage is early in her first year leading the Division of Specialized Support Services, MCPS is executing significant changes to special education that directly affect autistic students and their families.

We have learned of reductions and reorganization within MCPS special education, including the elimination of supervisors of services important to autistic students: Autism Services, Speech and Language Services, Transition Services, and Alternate Learning Outcomes. Most concerning, the Autism Unit has been reduced by roughly half. Two positions were eliminated, and five psychologists with autism-specific assessment expertise were reassigned to general caseloads, dispersing specialized knowledge that has long supported schools and IEP teams. At its peak, the Autism Unit included 21 full-time specialists serving 73 schools. The unit’s longtime supervisor, Kristin Ericson, is also departing after 43 years at MCPS, representing a major loss of expertise and institutional knowledge. For more information, go to:  Superintendent's Recommended Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget Superintendent's Recommended Special Education Staffing Plan Fiscal Year 2027 Operating Budget Important Upcoming Dates: Board of Education Public Hearings: Thursday, January 15, and Tuesday, January 27, 2026 Board of Education Board Work Sessions: January 20, and January 29, 2026 Tentative Board of Education Adoption: Thursday, February 19, 2026 Final Adoption: Expected Thursday, June 4, 2026

UNCERTAINTY AHEAD It remains unclear how autism services will be delivered under the new structure or how schools or educators will access specialized support. These changes come at a time when MCPS projects continued growth in the number of students with autism and plans to expand its Classic Autism program into three new schools with 10-13 additional classes — raising urgent questions about capacity, training, and oversight. WHY THIS MATTERS Autistic students often require specialized support tailored to their unique learning styles. Even well-intentioned educators who lack training in autism may struggle to provide effective support, as they may misinterpret what they are observing.  Reducing autism-specific staffing while expanding autism programs risks leaving schools without the expertise necessary to meet students’ needs. https://xminds.org/resources/EmailTemplates/News%20Webpage%20January%202026/index_preview.html

MCPS was Stopped from Moving Seven Locks ES to another site. IG Exposed MCPS Fib about Cost Data.

In 2006, MCPS was stopped by the Montgomery County Council from moving Seven Locks Elementary School to another site after a scathing report was released by the Montgomery County Inspector General.  The IG found that MCPS had fibbed about construction costs.  

A few weeks after the IG's report was released the County Council defunded the project and Seven Locks Elementary School was not moved. 

The superintendent's plan had been to hand the existing site over to developers. 

Here's the timeline of what happened: 

FEBRUARY, 2006: Montgomery County Inspector General Thomas Dagley releases a 25-page report that faults MCPS for providing misleading and inflated cost data about renovating Seven Locks Elementary and failing to provide the board and council with information about two less costly options on the site. The report also states that MCPS misrepresented community sentiment in reports to the board and council. In response, Councilmember Howard Denis (R-1) says he’ll introduce a CIP amendment to halt plans to build on Kendale and instead build a new school on the current Seven Locks site...

https://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2006/feb/14/seven-locks-controversy-timeline/

The Montgomery County Council affirmed March 28 that it will not fund the construction of an elementary school on Kendale Road in Potomac — an outcome that was nearly inconceivable three months ago...

https://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2006/mar/28/if-not-kendale-then-what/

2/18/26: MCPS Director of Security at BCC High School on VOLT AI Pilot

Notes from the PTSA meeting held at BCC High School on February 18, 2026. 

The topic of the meeting was the surprise announcement of a pilot of the VOLT AI system.  MCPS Director of Security Marcus Jones was the only speaker on this topic.  No representatives from VOLT AI spoke. 

Director Jones said that MCPS was approached and offered a no cost, 30 day trial of the VOLT AI product.

The 30 day pilot will be at three schools:  Seneca Valley HS because it is the largest high school in the state of Maryland, BCC High School because it is urban, and Magruder High School because it is suburban.  They asked the principals if they would participate. The pilot will begin March 2nd. 

Director Jones said this is the "evaluation phase."  There will be weekly reports and a final report. MCPS schools already have cameras. The VOLT AI system will only be on 30 cameras per school.  Each school has about 200 cameras. Currently, existing MCPS cameras are not monitored.  

A question was asked about what data MCPS currently has on incidents at schools and if that data would be used to compare to to the data generated from the VOLT AI pilot.  Director Jones said there isn't any data and you can't know what will happen in a school any given week.  There are no plans to evaluate data and no metrics for evaluating the system were stated. 

The agreement to do this pilot was reviewed by MCPS legal counsel. 

Director Jones said that nothing is off the table with regard to school security. 

Once installed, MCPS will run tests to see how VOLT AI responds.  They will set up test scenarios and see response. A human at VOLT AI will receive the alerts, review the video and contact MCPS.  A question was asked about where the VOLT AI human was located, the answer was USA. 

VOLT AI will retain the video for 30 days and then it will be deleted. 

Director Jones said he can not speak to the cost of VOLT AI.  He said he is not the decision maker.  The decision maker are the elected officials.  Even though VOLT AI is from Bethesda, they won't be given preference. 

Director Jones will not tell principals how to use the information from VOLT AI. 

 

Statement on Behalf of the Black United Front of Montgomery County Re: Wootton High School

The Black United Front Of Montgomery County is saddened and troubled by the shooting that took place on Monday. Our thoughts are with the family of the victim and we offer any help as they navigate this very difficult time.

At the same time though, The Black United Front of Moco cannot help but condemn the backlash and outrage over the facts. The fact that certain public officials are calling for the return of School Resource Officers despite study after study and input from experts that SRO’s do not contribute to student and school safety and marginalize Black students. The fact that certain public officials are calling for AI Surveillance in schools. Which is problematic considering the fact that AI has already been noted for having racial bias and that this measure will disproportionately affect Black students. In addition, contribute to the expansion of the police surveillance state in Montgomery County. Lastly, the fact that certain segments of the populace are demanding metal detectors in schools. This is problematic because it essentially turns schools into training grounds for incarceration and feeds into the school to prison pipeline and the larger prison industrial complex.

The fact is that despite the condolences offered by the County Council, this is just a cover of the continued anti-Blackness that permeates the county. For 250 years since the county’s establishment, it has been very apparent that Black people are the permanent underclass and as the permanent underclass, they feel that they can do whatever they want to us. It is a bitter irony that for a County that is celebrating its 250 years with the theme of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion that the Black community continues to be excluded and denigrated. Despite the passage of the Racial Equity and Social Justice Act in 2019, the Council wants to act like they haven’t passed it. We demand that the council makes a stronger commitment to enforce the laws and rules already in statute and county policy.
 
         This was totally preventable! Especially since the mother reported that she had been trying to remove her son from Wootton due to the ongoing bullying that they have been dealing with. Anyone who is familiar with MCPS will tell you that the bullying is at an astronomical level with the Board of Education and MCPS in particular stepping in line defending bullies. On top of which, the anti-Blackness in the bullying adds additional trauma to students. This is not surprising but still disgusting because despite recommendations from activist-organizers on developing Black cultural curriculum, mental health centers and designating young Black boys as a protective class, there has been silence or in some cases hostilities in creating programs specifically for Black students yet the same bodies will create programs for every other group.

        The Black United Front demands accountability not only from the School Board, but the County Council and the County Executive who has firmly denied and allowed this incident to happen. Blood is on their hands. We demand that the County Council, the School Board apologize for their failure to act on behalf of Black youth. We demand investments in Black youth that include a Black cultural curriculum, true restorative justice, and wraparound mental health services. We also demand an immediate emergency council meeting to deal with the crisis among Black youth especially since the increase of homicides in the county disproportionately affect Black boys and men.
 
Uhuru
The Black United Front Of Moco:
Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition
Racial Justice NOW!
UNIA-ACL
Cameroon American Council 
Friends of the Congo
EPIC of Moco

Ujima People Progress Party 

Day after Wootton High shooting, Montgomery Co. superintendent addresses frustrated parents

...But as the meeting concluded, several parents shouted questions and concerns at Taylor. Questions could be submitted, and more community meetings would be planned, Taylor assured them.

Eventually, as the comments continued, Taylor told families he knew his responses would be “unfulfilling and unsatisfactory,” and then ended the meeting.

“That was very embarrassing,” one parent said. “We came here because we expected that they were going to answer our questions, but unfortunately, they didn’t answer our questions.”..

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2026/02/day-after-wootton-high-shooting-montgomery-co-superintendent-addresses-frustrated-parents/

Once again, MCPS skips public bidding process for "pilot" with unknown cost/benefit. Future cost could be tens of millions.

The Montgomery County Board of Education has had no public discussion of this pilot. The Board of Education has not voted to pilot this company's system and did not pick the 3 schools.

In 2024, MCPS estimated that weapons detection systems for secondary schools would cost $11,000,000.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

What we know about an AI-powered weapons detection system coming to county schools

The day before gunfire pierced a Montgomery County high school, the district quietly began rolling out a pilot program for an AI-powered weapons detection system.

Chief Safety Officer Marcus Jones wrote to families in three high school communities — Seneca Valley, Bethesda-Chevy Chase* and Magruder — to tell them that their campuses were poised to test VOLT AI.

“This pilot is a careful, short-term opportunity to test a potential tool,” the Feb. 8 letter reads...

...How much does it cost?

Sokolowski isn’t charging Montgomery County for its 30-day pilot.

“We are confident in our technology, so we allow companies and school districts to pilot completely for free.”

He said he has not yet discussed future pricing models with the district...

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/ai-powered-weapons-detection-montgomery-schools-wootton-HX2I2EI5YZC2NAK4OMDITQX2PU/

*Note: Superintendent Thomas Taylor has said he grew up in the BCC High School community and would be moving home when he took the MCPS superintendent position. 

Student injured, another arrested in shooting at Wootton High in Maryland

A 16-year-old male student was shot inside Wootton High School in suburban Maryland on Monday afternoon, and police have arrested another student in the case, officials said.

The suspect, who is also 16 and lives in Rockville, will be charged as an adult, officials in Montgomery County said.

The victim, who police say is from Gaithersburg, was taken to a hospital in stable condition. The students’ names were not released. Both are students at Wootton.

The school campus was placed on lockdown...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/02/09/shooting-wootton-high-school-maryland/

Tuesday 2/20/2026 Police Press Conference on Wootton HS Shooting. No MCPS participation in press conference.

Breaking: 20 Victims Sue MCPS under Child Victim's Act #childabuse #survivors

From Wikipedia:  

The Maryland Child Victims Act is a law in the U.S. state of Maryland passed by the Maryland General Assembly during the 445th legislative session in 2023 and signed into law by Governor Wes Moore. It retroactively and prospectively repeals the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse lawsuits and raises the liability limits for a single plaintiff for claims against private institutions. Its first version was introduced by former Democratic state senator James Brochin in 2007. Iterations of the proposal were put forth during the 425th, 435th, 436th, 437th, 439th, 441st, 442nd, and 445th legislative sessions...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Child_Victims_Act

In 2025, approximately 20 Montgomery County Public School children or adults filed suit against the Montgomery County Board of Education under the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023.  

The Montgomery County Board of Education has already hired the outside law firm of Karpinski, Colaresi & Karp, P.A. in Baltimore to handle the majority of these cases.  

Yet, as of today, the Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor have not said a word about these cases.  

Further, to date, the Montgomery County Board of Education has never put out a statement with regard to the dozens upon dozens of children who have been sexually abused in classrooms and schools over the last 20 years.  In the vast majority of these cases MCPS administrators, and sometimes even the Board of Education, had been notified of suspected child abuse occurring in a school but did not report this information and did not remove the suspected perpetrator from contact with students.  

MCPS even kept a secret list of suspected abusers who were still employed by the school system.  

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD has followed many of these cases by attending court proceedings.  In the majority of these cases, there was no press in the courtroom, no one from the Board of Education and no one from MCPS.  

Neither the BOE nor MCPS administrators were in the courtrooms to hear the victim impact statements on behalf of these children.  We have transcribed just a few of these statements for the public.  

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS

The 2017, weeklong trial of MCPS elementary school teacher John Vigna wasn't even covered by any local media.  When the trial was over, the Parents' Coalition obtained the audio transcripts of the trial and posted much of the proceeding to this blog.  

Does MCPS still keep a secret list of suspected child abusers that are in classrooms?  

"We have a confidential file that we keep separate from personnel files, and we check those names routinely when we get an investigation." Statement of MCPS investigator Myles Alban, Page 102, Transcript of Daniel Picca v. Montgomery County Board of Education.  

Will the Board of Education acknowledge these 20+/- victims or will they continue to spend Operating Budget funds on endless litigation fighting students who were sexually abused in MCPS schools? 

County officials cite communication gaps after snowstorm

 

...A Delayed Response

Montgomery County Public Schools requested county assistance Sunday Feb. 1 at around 2 p.m.—about a week after the storm hit—to clear sidewalks and school bus stops. Officials later said the work was not completed.

“We couldn’t make a decision to open schools if there was no enforcement of clearing sidewalks,” said Adnan Mamoom, chief of district operations for MCPS. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a way for students to safely walk to school.”..

https://www.mymcmedia.org/county-officials-cite-communication-gaps-after-snowstorm/

‘A long list of problems’: MCPS proposes adding auditor to expand investigative abilities

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) may hire a program audit coordinator to expand the district’s investigative abilities beyond financial audits in response to County Council concerns that the district relies too heavily on the county inspector general’s office for oversight, according to MCPS officials. 

“Well, we have a long list of problems, there’s no question about that. There’s a long list of things that we could look into and correct,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the county school board during a Jan. 20 work session on the district’s proposed $3.78 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2027.  

Creating the position, which would report directly to the board, “might help to support identifying areas of improvement … it may enhance our efforts to continuously improve,” Taylor said.

The audit coordinator was among several positions Taylor included in proposed discretionary spending, such as 10 full-time equivalent positions to support implementing a proposed regional program model, a Safe Routes to School coordinator to support pedestrian safety, 28 full-time equivalent elementary school-based safety staff and 153 full time equivalent special education resource teachers...  

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2026/01/29/mcps-auditor-budget/

For $360,000 Superintendent Taylor makes cute snow day videos, but doesn't show up at County Council for Briefing on MCPS Snow Operations.

The Montgomery County Board of Education hired Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor in July of 2024, at a salary of $360,000.

Parents, guardians, students and staff have seen the Superintendent's cute snow day videos.  

But tomorrow, Tuesday, February 3, 2026, when the County Council holds a Briefing on the Winter Storm/Snow Operations during Winter Storm Fern, they won't see the Superintendent.  

Instead, Superintendent Taylor and the Board of Education will skip the Council's Briefing and send staff in their place.  

Sunday 2/1: MCPS Bethesda Depot Buses Appear to Still Have Snow Covered Roofs

 Today at the MCPS Bethesda Depot at 4 PM:  

Here's a Google Earth image showing the tops of MCPS 

school buses at the Bethesda Depot. 

Superintendent Taylor to Board of Ed.: There isn't a single line in the 10,000 lines that are in your budget that will be spent exactly how the dollars line up.

 "Your budget is a spending plan.

There isn't a single line in the 10,000 lines that are in your budget that will be spent

exactly how the dollars line up. 

You will have some that are higher and very few that are lower. 

But it is your plan as you have it mapped out for how

the system should spend its money."

Statement of MCPS Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor

Minute 2:39:00 of Board of Education - Operating Budget Work Session #2 - 1/20/26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0LEL933ml4

Breaking: MD State Board of Education Smacks MCPS Once Again. Electric Bus Contract Award Still Illegal. #LegalFees

At today's Maryland State Board of Education meeting, the State Board considered a request by the Montgomery County Board of Education to reconsider the State Board's decision from November 2025, that declared the MCPS award of the electric school bus contract to have been arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal. 

From the November 2025, State Board of Education decision: 

ABC7 reported on the State Board's decision.

In that news report, MCPS gave their typical no comment response and then never spoke about the decision again.  

In a statement to the I-Team, MCPS said it is still reviewing the state’s decision and has not yet analyzed the full implications for the district.

What the public never knew is that MCPS did in fact respond to the State Board's decision.  MCPS and the Board of Education went right back to their outside legal counsel and directed legal counsel to dispute the State Board's decision by filing a request for reconsideration.  MCPS and the Board of Education decided to spend more education dollars on outside lawyers. 

Today, the State Board responded to MCPS' request for reconsideration.  

The State Board DENIED Montgomery County Board of Education's request to reconsider the State Board's November 2025 decision that declared the Montgomery County Board of Education's upholding of the award of the electric school bus contract to HET MCPS, LLC to have been arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal. 

The State Board of Education announced this decision at today's meeting that was broadcast on YouTube.  The video of the announcement of the decision is below.  

 

Jan. 23rd and 24th: Board of Education OFF CAMERA FOR TWO DAYS but meetings are Open to the Public. Public can attend, record, and video to document off camera BOE actions.

The Montgomery County Board of Education is meeting for two days off camera to hold discussions and possibly act.  

These meetings are open to the public under the Maryland Open Meetings Act.  The public is encouraged to attend part or all of these meetings and record or document what discussions and business the Board of Education transacts.  

Past Board of Education retreats have yielded crucial discussions that impacted the operations of MCPS and the Board's interactions with the public. 

Friday, January 23rd and Saturday, January 24th

15 West Gude Drive, Rockville, Maryland

1. Opening Remarks and Agenda Overview - 10:00 a.m.

2. Topics

2.1 Team Building Exercise

2.2 Norms/Shared Commitments

2.3 StrengthsFinder Exercise

2.4 Lunch Break

2.5 The Board's Governance Role

2.6 Board Handbook Technical Update

2.7 Break

2.8 Professional Development (Appeals)

2.9 2026-2027 Advisory Committee on Communications and Community Engagement

3. Closing Remarks - 3:30 p.m.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DQJTBZ76A64D

1. Closed Session Approval - 9:00 a.m.

1.1 Resolution for Today's Closed Session

This Agenda Item Contains an Attachment.

2. Opening Remarks and Agenda Overview - 10:30 a.m.

3. Topics

3.1 Team Building Exercise

3.2 Lunch Break

3.3 Governance Exercise

3.4 Communications Strategy

3.5 Break

3.6 Board Meeting Timing and Schedule Considerations

3.7 2026-2027 Board Annual Calendar Review and Considerations

4. Closing Remarks - 3:30 p.m.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DQJTH2775FB3