Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: "Taxing the Ignorant" - ACLU Finally Steps Up to Defend MD Students' Right to a Free Public Edcuation

Friday, June 14, 2019

"Taxing the Ignorant" - ACLU Finally Steps Up to Defend MD Students' Right to a Free Public Edcuation

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD has repeatedly contacted the Maryland ACLU over the last 12 years to request assistance in eliminating illegal curricular fees in Montgomery County Public Schools. The response from the ACLU was that they did not have the time to address this issue. They believed the elected officials in Montgomery County would step up and do the right thing by our public school children. One ACLU representative termed illegal curricular fees charged by the Montgomery County Board of Education as:

"taxing the ignorant."

That implies that parents who know Maryland law will not pay illegal fees. And that is exactly what has happened in Montgomery County. Parents that know the law, don't pay the illegal curricular fees charged by MCPS. Parents that are ignorant of the Maryland Constitution's guarantee of a free public education for all have been paying the illegal fees.

Here is the lawsuit filed this week in Prince George's County regarding the fees the public school system charges for students to attend public school classes in the summer.

Rozon v. Prince Georges Cty... by on Scribd

2 comments:

AnonymousJune 14, 2019 at 11:24 AM
Is this considered beyond the realm of our SAO?
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AnonymousJune 15, 2019 at 7:45 AM
"We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." -Leona Helmsley
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Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011