Dear Montgomery County Board of Education Members:
Abuse thrives in secrecy – in 2012 the Maryland State Board of Ed
directed you to take concrete steps to protect children in schools. Your
response was silence.
In September of 2014, MCPS, under the direction of Dr. Joshua Starr,
began to respond to media attention to “isolated” incidents of child
sexual abuse at Baker and Clemente. Since then, dozens of cases have
been publicized that had previously been mishandled. We all know now
that these incidents are not isolated. There is a systemic problem in
MCPS and there should be accountability for the travesties committed
against children in our schools.
As a parent volunteer on this workgroup/advisory group, there has
been selective transparency – we are still awaiting documents that we
have requested on numerous occasions, and the website has been slow to
be updated, if at all. And while we were participating in
workgroup/advisory group meetings with multidisciplinary team members,
children continued to be abused in our schools.
Please do not vote to implement this draft policy
yet. I have grave concerns that doing something without having this
policy vetted by child abuse experts with knowledge of laws and Attorney
General opinions at the state level will be a huge mistake. I believe
there are major flaws in this policy, major loopholes, conflicts with
Attorney General Opinions, and inconsistencies with Maryland law.
Additionally...
open letter to Montgomery County Board of Education continues at this link.
" Attorney General opinions " Can you be more specific? http://www.oag.state.md.us/faq.htm
ReplyDeleteSee Ellen Mugmon's submission regarding the Board of Education's draft child abuse policy. The AG opinions are included in her submission.
Deletehttp://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2015/06/exclusive-policy-expert-slams-boe-and.html
". . . directed you to take concrete steps to protect children is schools."
DeleteSince they do not have the authority to order them, then nothing will be done. Much ado about nothing.
Much ado about nothing? So when was your child sexually abused by MCPS staff?
DeleteMeaning that we have all these lofty guardians of truth and justice, Lawmakers, AG, MSBE; drafting marginal bills, authoring opinions and directing actions, but where are the liabilities and penalties for those who have failed repeatedly to follow through?
DeleteIf there is no investigation there are no liabilities and penalties to be imposed.
DeleteThat's the whole point of MCPS and MCEA keeping a secret list of offenders. They keep a list, but don't report.
If there is no report, there is no investigation and then no punishment. That's how known offenders have a safe harbor in MCPS. The secret list is still in use and the failure to report is ongoing as per MCPS stated procedure.
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”
DeleteAlbert Einstein
Policy peppered with loopholes
ReplyDeleteThat protects children at schools
Like the promises at the polls
Making us look like such fools.
"I have grave concerns that doing something without having this policy vetted by child abuse experts . . ." Child Abuse Experts!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, such people do exist because of rampant abuse cases like Penn State, the Catholic Church and MCPS. It takes an expert on the issues, the laws and the victims to stop the rampant abuse that is occurring in Montgomery County Public Schools. It is obviously useless to have the same people that are allowing the abuse to continue writing the "new" policy.
DeleteHow does one earn such a controversial title anyway?
DeleteSame way one earns the title of "teacher" or "administrator."
Delete