PG Letter to Parents and Guardians Due to Flu Outbreak

 

• Enhanced Cleaning – Increased disinfection of high-touch areas in schools and buses.
• Handwashing & Hygiene – Ensuring ample soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizer, along with reminders for proper handwashing.
• Temporary Masking – If flu cases reach critical levels in a school, we may require temporary masking to safeguard students and staff.
• On-Site Flu Vaccination – We are partnering with the Prince George’s County Health Department to provide flu vaccines in affected schools.
• Limiting Exposure – Keeping students in consistent groups where possible to limit interactions and contain outbreaks.
• Extracurricular Adjustments – Modifying or postponing high-contact activities and large gatherings as needed.
• Ongoing Monitoring – We continue to track illness trends, work closely with local health officials, and update families regularly.

Letter from the Superintendent: Help Us Prevent Flu Spread in Schools

Maryland community outraged over plans to build drug rehab center near MCPS elementary school

BROOKEVILLE, Md. — A tightknit Maryland community are outraged about a proposed drug rehab facility moving in near a local elementary school.

Families in Brookeville are frustrated after recently finding out about two houses being turned into a residential treatment center next to Greenwood Elementary School.

Joy Brewington told WUSA9 she and her family have lived in the neighborhood for six years. She has five children who attend Greenwood Elementary...

...Community members created a petition to stop the opening of the facility... 

Community feels blindsided by potential drug rehab center near elementary school | wusa9.com

MCPS parents continue to push for more safety measures after gun incidents

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Montgomery County Public Schools held a meeting Tuesday night to address concerns about students and gun safety. It comes after two separate gun-related incidents that put Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School on lockdown last month.

While the recent lockdowns happened at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School the impact was felt in the surrounding community leaving parents wanting to know how to prevent another emergency.

This was the fourth safety meeting in two and a half years and that has parents concerned and angry. 

A wide array of topics were discussed, from who is responsible for calling a lockdown to where to go for official information. 

"That happened at 10 a.m. Why are kids allowed out of the campus at any time of day?" one attendee asked. "Why can’t they stay on campus during school hours?"..

MCPS parents continue to push for more safety measures after gun incidents | FOX 5 DC

Vitamin A? Cod liver oil? Experts say there’s no replacement for measles vaccination

Texas health experts are warning that vitamin A — found in food and in supplements such as cod liver oil — is not an alternative to measles vaccination.

They’re urging Texans to vaccinate themselves and their children, as the West Texas measles outbreak continues to grow and after an unvaccinated child died from the illness.

Their concerns come after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote about vitamin A in a Fox News column responding to the Texas measles outbreak. (Kennedy has also falsely stated in the past that vaccines cause autism.)

Kennedy’s comments in the column — that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vitamin A for people hospitalized with measles, and that studies have found vitamin A can help prevent measles deaths — are not inaccurate.

But they lack important context, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine. Hotez worries the missing context might mean people put their faith in vitamin A over vaccination — a decision that could cost lives.

“The thing that I worry about is by (Kennedy) playing this up and others playing this up, it sends a false equivalency message, that somehow treating with vitamin A is equivalent to getting vaccinated, which is clearly not the case,” Hotez said...

Vitamin A? Cod liver oil? Experts say there’s no replacement for measles vaccination

Montgomery County Public Schools request 52 additional security guards amid safety concerns

The Brief

• Request for Security Guards: Montgomery County Public Schools seek 52 additional security guards to address safety concerns.
• Incident Background: Two gun-related incidents at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School have been reported in the last month.
• Budget and Implementation: The budget will be sent to the Council by March 14, with potential implementation next year.
• Montgomery County Public Schools request 52 additional security guards amid safety concerns | FOX 5 DC

The Education Department is retreating from some of the most incendiary suggestions

The Education Department is retreating from some of the most incendiary suggestions it made last month in a sweeping directive threatening to pull federal funding from any college or K-12 school district that considers race in hiring, programming, scholarships and virtually every other aspect of student and campus life.

A new question-and-answer document, posted online late Friday, clearly states that by law the federal government cannot dictate curriculum. It also notes that cultural celebrations and events celebrating Black History Month are legally permitted as long as they are open to people of all races.

It also narrows the definition of which types of diversity, equity and inclusion programs might draw scrutiny. The new directive adheres more closely to traditional court doctrines and interpretation of civil rights law, experts said Saturday.

“I see it as a significant retrenchment back towards more established case law,” said Ray Li, an attorney who worked on these issues in the Office for Civil Rights during the Biden administration. “It reads as if written by someone different.”

“A lot of the most unsupported claims made” in the original letter, he said, “have been walked back.”..

Education Dept. softens controversial guidance on race and schools

Kennedy High community looks to MCPS to improve safety in Silver Spring school

When junior Alex Acuna walks into John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring to start his school day, he feels safe. But in the back of his mind, he says he’s also thinking that walking into the school means it could be his “last day alive.”  

“I’ve seen people who look like grown adults [come into the school] and they were trying to jump my friends,” Acuna said.  

After continued concerns for safety and a back-to-back lockdown and shelter-in-place in January, a group of about 25 Kennedy students, staff and families gathered at the school Wednesday night for a session hosted by the PTSA to discuss how to improve safety in the school moving forward. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leaders, including Marcus Jones, the former county police chief who now heads the MCPS Department of Security and Compliance, also attended...

Kennedy High community looks to MCPS to improve safety in Silver Spring school - Bethesda Magazine

Breaking: AGAIN! MD State Board of Education ORDERS MCPS Board of Ed. to Comply with Appellate Court of MD Order to Review $168M Elec. Bus Contract Award

The Montgomery County Board of Education has still not complied with the March 2024, Maryland Appellate Court Order that mandated the Board of Education review the award of the electric school bus contract to a vendor that had a subcontractor that was found to be involved in an embezzlement scheme with 2 of the 3 MCPS employees that ranked the bids.

On Tuesday, February 25th, the Maryland State Board of Education once again issued an Order to the Montgomery County Board of Education to comply with the Maryland Appellate Court Order. 

The BOE's electric school bus contract is an $168 million dollar award that commits the BOE to a leasing scheme for 16 years.  There is a lot of money involved in this scheme.  It should be important to get this right. 

And complying with a Court Order would be a good idea too. 

From this week's State Board of Education Order: 

Full text of Maryland State Board of Education Order:  

AutoFlexFleetInc.OR25-03 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Thursday, Feb. 27th at 7 PM: Let's talk about the MCPS Operating Budget in Detail

MCTL is Co-Sponsoring the annual MCPS Budget Palooza with the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County are Montgomery County Civic Federation. We will do a deep dive into the $3,655,244,116 MCPS FY2026 Operating Budget.

Register at this link.

MCPS Board of Education Briefing to County House Delegation + vote on BOE compensation increase - Friday Feb 28th 9am on Zoom

Our MCPS Board of Education will be briefing the House Delegation at their weekly Friday morning meeting this Friday, February 28th, at 9am.

The delegation will also be discussing and voting on the proposed substantial pay increase for the BOE members.

Please tune in. Link is below.

The Montgomery County House Delegation will be meeting on Friday, February 28th at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom. The meeting will be livestreamed on Youtube for viewing. The meeting agenda and link to the livestream are below.

Meeting Agenda

Briefing:

• Montgomery County Board of Education
• Universities at Shady Grove

Work and Voting Session:

• MC 7-25 Montgomery County – Board of Education – Compensation - Special Ordered 2/21/25
• Requested by Delegates Charkoudian and Vogel
• MC 21-25 Montgomery County - Alcoholic Beverage Licenses - Health and Safety Regulations - Special Ordered 2/21/25
• Requested by Delegates Charkoudian, and Wilkins and Senator Smith

Youtube Livestream: Link

BCC High School, "This is the second lockdown for the school within six days."

A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student faces charges of possession of a weapon on school property and other offenses after he allegedly brought an airsoft gun to the downtown Bethesda campus, resulting in a lockdown Tuesday morning, according to Montgomery County police. 

Police said on social media Tuesday afternoon that a male juvenile taken into custody following the lockdown at the high school was in possession of an airsoft gun, a pellet gun that resembles a firearm. The student was charged with disruption of school activities, possession of a weapon on school property and possession of a concealed weapon, county police spokesperson Shiera Goff told Bethesda Today in an email Tuesday afternoon. 

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High student charged after airsoft gun at school causes lockdown   - Bethesda Magazine

Senator Brian Feldman's Maryland Senate Bill 554: "I urge you to throw this bill in the trash where it belongs."

There is another bill in the Maryland legislature on behalf of our Democratic Attorney General to prohibit people from being able to request public records of the government for which government gets to determine are abusive.

Here is my letter to the Chair and Vice Chair of the judiciary committee.

Dear Senators,

I am writing to express significant opposition to SB0554 - Public Information Act – Frivolous, Vexatious, or Abusive Requests – Remedies.

It is very troubling that PIA (Public Information Act) legislation is being prioritized to limit the public's access to public records. The Attorney General's own Public Information Act manual states:

"In most cases, a person need not justify or otherwise explain a request to inspect records, and a custodian of records may not require a person to say who they

are or why they want the records as a prerequisite to responding to a request. GP § 4-204. Nor may a custodian ignore a request on the grounds that it was made for the purpose of harassment. GP § 4-203(c)(2)."

I am a parent advocate for special education and I have submitted many PIA requests to gain public records related to the provision of services to students with disabilities. The Kirwan Commission recognized special education services to be so lacking as to create a separate work group for special education. The public has a right to know how our children with disabilities are being educated or not. Should school systems be allowed to simply ignore my requests and ban me from future requests, which I believe is unconstitutional.

When a friend told me that Carroll County Public Schools was paying 2 expensive private attorneys to fight one parent in a special education due process hearing, I submitted a PIA request last February for the attorney invoices to see how much CCPS was paying to fight this parent. The request was denied. So, I wrote back and explained to CCPS that attorney invoices do not reveal personally identifiable information and CCPS then provided almost fully redacted invoices (redacting the 2 attorneys initials also). After additional emails, I ended up in mediation with the Attorney General's Public Access Ombudsman. All I am allowed to say is that the mediation was not resolved. I then filed a complaint with the Public Information Act Compliance Board. It took additional time of back and forth with the Board and CCPS and the final ruling was that CCPS had to provide me with the invoices with only the student information redacted. Eight months later, there were no consequences for the school system's noncompliance with the law. THAT is what the legislature should be correcting. The PIA "shall be construed in favor of allowing inspection of a public record" GP §4–103

In another case, former Delegate Robert Flanagan requested emails between the Howard County administration and a private lobbyist. The records were denied using attorney-client privilege and deliberative process exemptions. The person denying the records was the County Executive's sister-in-law, campaign manager, and his special assistant in state government. Mr. Flanagan filed a circuit court complaint with violations of the PIA and the County admitted willful violation of the law. Imagine if this bill was in effect and the County Administration could simply ignore the requests and ban the requester from any other requests. This is unbelievably outrageous and reminds me of Trump and not Maryland Democrats, who are supposed to be about transparency in government.

from the bill: "... THE CUSTODIAN NEED NOT RESPOND TO FUTURE REQUESTS FROM THE APPLICANT OR ANOTHER PERSON MAKING A REQUEST ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME."

I urge you to throw this bill in the trash where it belongs.

Respectfully.

Barb Krupiarz

B-CC High student held without bond after Wednesday shooting in downtown Bethesda park

Nicolas Blanco, 18, faces assault and fire-arms related charges

A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student allegedly involved in a Wednesday morning shooting during a fight in a downtown Bethesda park was ordered Friday to be held without bond in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville, according to digital court records.

No injuries were reported after the incident at Chase Avenue Urban Park at 4701 Chase Ave., less than 1 mile from the high school at 4301 East West Highway, according to the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. The shooting caused Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and a nearby private school to go into lockdown that morning.

Nicolas Paolo Blanco, 18, was arrested by the Maryland-National Capital Park Police on Thursday. He faces charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and firearm-related offenses for the non-contact shooting during the fight involving a number of youths...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/21/b-cc-student-park-shooting-held-without-bond/

2 arrested after fight, gunshots led to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High lockdown

...On Thursday, Maryland-National Capital Park Police arrested a juvenile for gun-related charges and 18-year-old Nicholas Paolo Blanco on multiple charges related to the incident.

In a letter to school families, Principal Shelton Mooney said that around 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday, a member of the community alerted the school that gunshots were heard in a nearby park. School staff then notified emergency personnel and police.

The people involved in the fight dispersed after the sound of gunshots and the school then went into lockdown mode out of an abundance of caution.

No one was hurt in the shooting.

After reviewing footage of the fight, Mooney said, it was determined that some of the people involved were students at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Mooney said...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2025/02/principal-fighting-students-sound-of-gunshots-led-to-bethesda-chevy-chase-high-lockdown/

Open Letter to Maryland Legislators: "It is truly immoral that the governor is proposing to cut the DDA funding..."

To my District 12 representatives,

Many of the people I have helped in the past with public school issues for their kids with disabilities now have adult children with disabilities. It is truly immoral that the governor is proposing to cut the DDA (Developmental Disabilities Administration) funding the way that he has. His slogan of leaving no one behind is a slap in the face to the people who need the most help. I believe that there are places where the DDA funding is not being used appropriately. But, instead of investigating fraud, he is using a bulldozer to dismantle services for people and their families who have struggled their whole lives. It reminds me of what Trump is doing on a larger scale. Surely there are places where the budget can be reduced in other places that are not going to have the devastating effects of this proposal. In fact, I know there are after working for 3 different state agencies.

The governor seems almost proud of his cuts to people with disabilities with his press release of also cutting funding for K-12 special education nonpublic schools. This is where a small percentage of the most disabled students must go because the public schools can't meet their needs. By cutting this funding, it will force local school systems to keep more kids in the public school - when they know they can't meet their needs. That is a reality because they can't afford anything else with the unfunded mandates of the Blueprint. So, more children will regress as a result. This impacts the rest of their lives and it will end up costing more when they are adults.

It is truly shameful that the governor, and maybe the legislature, is leaving behind our most vulnerable people. What do you think is more important - giving raises to state employees or meeting the daily needs of people with disabilities?

I hope you will fight for the rights of this group of people when you make decisions on the budget.

Respectfully,

Barb Krupiarz

Maryland governor's education funding bill meets scrutiny in Senate committee

 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Gubernatorial staffers faced tough questions Wednesday from state lawmakers over Gov. Wes Moore's education bill.

Senate Bill 429 would rewrite portions of the state's landmark education law, the Blueprint for Maryland's Future school-funding mandates that each district must follow.

Moore's staffers told members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Wednesday that the law needs adjustments in order to sustain current academic gains.

"We see the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act as a critical step in moving towards that goal," said Fagan Harris, the governor's chief of staff...

Moore's school funding bill meets scrutiny in committee

Churchill Observer: "So far, MCPS has received 16 buses for the fiscal year 2025." (They should have received 120.)

On July 25, 2024, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated MCPS’ management of a multi-million dollar contract to acquire and operate 326 electric school buses. The investigation concluded that MCPS failed to enforce the contract terms, and did not account for hundreds of dollars in fees outlined in the agreement, despite not receiving over half of the buses it ordered within the agreed-upon timeframe. To compensate for not receiving the electric buses they requested, MCPS is now spending over $14 million to acquire diesel buses and has received a failing grade from Montgomery County’s council audit committee for their implementation of electric buses...

MCPS slams the brakes on electric bus program - The Observer

School bus crash in Montgomery County happened on icy roadway, officials say

The Brief

• A school bus and another vehicle collided on an icy Columbia Pike in Montgomery County on Friday morning.
• No students were on the bus, and it's unclear if anyone in the second vehicle was injured.
• School bus crash in Montgomery County happened on icy roadway, officials say | FOX 5 DC

History Conversations | Separate But Unequal: The History of School Segregation in Montgomery County

Education, denied to the enslaved, was one of the highest priorities of emancipated African Americans. But in Montgomery County, where slavery existed, public education was not extended to Black children until a decade after it was instituted for White children. Even then, the practice of “separate but equal” schools was anything but equal, and no Black high school was built until well into the 20th century. A surprising number of these African American schools used during segregation still exist in the county, including several erected through a partnership between Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald that helped improve Black education all over the South...

History Conversations | Separate But Unequal: The History of School Segregation in Montgomery County

Court rules 2023 Child Victims Act is constitutional

Three separate cases asked the court to void the law, saying it illegally removed a statute of limitations for filing lawsuits

A 2023 state law that lifted a 20-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against public and private entities involved in incidents of sexual abuse, essentially allowing victims to file suit at any time, is constitutional.

The Supreme Court of Maryland, in a narrow 4-3 decision Monday, ruled that the legislature was within its power when it passed the Child Victims Act of 2023. The law, signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) in 2023 opened the door to claims against private entities — most notably the Archdiocese of Baltimore — and state government agencies.

Defendants in three cases — the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, The Key School and the Board of Education of Harford County — argued the 2023 law ran afoul of a law passed six years earlier. That 2017 law, they argued, established a time restriction for filing lawsuits that in effect created a statute of limitations.

The state’s highest court was asked to decide if the 2023 law illegally stripped a vested right when it eliminated the statute of limitations for lawsuits under the act.

“Our answer is no,” Chief Justice Matthew Fader wrote in the opinion for the majority...

Court rules 2023 Child Victims Act is constitutional - Maryland Matters

Falls Church teacher among seven arrested in Fairfax County child exploitation sting

The man is the second Fairfax County Public Schools teacher to be arrested for child sex crimes in the past month.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A Falls Church High School teacher was one of seven men arrested in a child exploitation sting operation in Fairfax County, police said Tuesday.

Fairfax County Police announced the arrests of seven online predators on Tuesday, following a sting operation from the Child Exploitation Unit. According to Chief Kevin Davis, detectives posed as young children to engage online predators who seek to solicit sexual acts from minors...

2 Fairfax County Public Schools teachers arrested for separate child sex crimes | wusa9.com

County school board appoints eight to new MCPS leadership posts

The Montgomery County school board unanimously approved appointments of eight high-level administrators Tuesday, reassigning some staff and adding new hires under a restructuring of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leadership.  

MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor is reorganizing the district’s central office at the leadership and general staffing levels. Taylor said Thursday the restructuring of the central office, which includes cutting about 81 positions, would provide more support to schools through the reassignment of some staff members.  

MCPS began making changes to its leadership structure in November, after it announced eight chief-level positions. The posts include the chiefs of school leadership, talent management, student support, equity and development, technology, academics, and operations. The district also listed the post of general counsel, or the head of the district’s in-house legal team, as an open position. All positions were filled by Tuesday’s appointments and report to Taylor...

  County school board appoints eight to new MCPS leadership posts   - Bethesda Magazine

MoCo delegate’s bill aims to bring back MCPS virtual academy

When the Montgomery County school board voted in June to close the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) online learning program due to fiscal constraints, Takoma Park parents Sterling High and Courtney Evans did everything they could to try to reverse the decision.  

High and Evans, whose son attended the Montgomery Virtual Academy, joined other parents to protest and testify in front of the board, hoping to raise awareness about the potential harm to students who needed to attend classes online instead of in-person. 

Their actions drew the interest of state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17), who met with the couple...

MoCo delegate’s bill aims to bring back MCPS virtual academy - Bethesda Magazine

Legislation at this link.