Showing posts with label Julie Yang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie Yang. Show all posts

Monday, February 9, 2026

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? 

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Maryland's State Board of Education report says MCPS electric bus deal is illegal


...
Janis Zink Sartucci, with the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County — a watchdog group — said the state’s findings are unprecedented.

“I have certainly never seen a decision by the Montgomery County Board of Education declared illegal,” Sartucci said.

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.

“It is outrageous that our Board of Education and Superintendent have not addressed this issue that has been ongoing for years,” she said. “Instead, they’ve opted to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees on what the State Board of Education now calls a tainted bid award.”..

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/maryland-report-says-mcps-electric-bus-deal-is-illegal-montgomery-county-public-schools-parents-coalition-iteam

Monday, October 27, 2025

Superintendent Taylor Prioritizes MCPS Warehouse over Students in Trailers

Superintendent Says It’s Time to Find a New Warehouse as Building Conditions Decline

The condition of Montgomery County Public Schools’ buildings is deteriorating, including the warehouse in Rockville, which was constructed using materials recycled from the World War II era, according to MCPS officials.

Superintendent Thomas Taylor, Ed.D., said he believes it is time to look for a different warehouse location. MCM joined a tour of the current facility Tuesday evening with Taylor and other MCPS officials...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/superintendent-says-its-time-to-find-a-new-warehouse-as-building-conditions-decline/

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

4,900 MCPS hires have not been submitted for CPS background checks. "100% Your Children are Not Safe"

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — A new report from the Montgomery County Inspector General just revealed that almost 5,000 of the district's hires have not been checked out for past violations with the state's Child Protective Services (CPS) division.

So, who's spending time with your kids in schools?..

..."100%. Your children are not safe in MCPS from people who may choose to harm them sexually," said Jennifer Gross, a licensed clinical social worker...

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/montgomery-county-public-schools-background-checks-sex-offender-mcps-education-marc-elrich-child-protective-services-safety-education-classroom-maryland-oig#


Monday, June 23, 2025

BOE Authorized MCPS Staff to Evaluate Possible Locations, Not to Completely Move a Program without a BOE vote or public notice.

WUSA9 reported on a Montgomery County community that was surprised to learn that MCPS was moving a program for middle and high school students to their local elementary holding school. 

The community isn't the only group that is surprised. The Board of Education is surprised too. 

The plan has never come before the Board of Education for discussion, there has not been a feasibility study, and there is no funding in the MCPS budget for any renovations or modifications to the holding school.

In May of 2024, the Board of Education discussed the lease of the space being used for the Ewing @ Plum Orchard Alternative Education Program. That's apparently a Level 2 Program for middle and high school students.  The lease was up and apparently the BOE wanted to discuss possibilities for relocating the Program.  

Instead of presenting the BOE with possibilities, requesting funding, and obtaining a BOE vote, someone in MCPS administration made their own decision to move the Ewing @ Plum Orchard program to an elementary holding school. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Breaking: New Superintendent and Board of Education Usher in New Era of Transparency

 April Fools

~~~

Today, the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board issued an official opinion that found the Montgomery County Board of Education violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act during a Closed Session on September 26, 2024, when they discussed the acquisition of diesel school buses for $13.9 million dollars. 

This blog reported on this presumed violation on January 9, 2025, along with other irregularities in the procurement.   

Same old, same old at the Montgomery County Board of Education.  

We will have more on this, including how not only did the Board of Education violate the Open Meetings Act, but how they spent thousands of dollars in outside legal time to defend their violation in multiple responses to the original Complaint I filed on January 9, 2025.  

For now, here is today's Opinion: 

19 OMCB Opinions 070 Montgomery County Board of Education VIOLATED Open Meetings Act by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

@mocoboe President Julie Yang: In an attempt to boost transparency... is also making school board contracts available to the public.

New Montgomery Co. school board president details plans to regain public trust

It’s been over a year since allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against former Montgomery County schools principal Joel Beidleman first surfaced in Maryland’s largest school system, eventually leading to the departure of superintendent Monifa McKnight and calls from parents for school officials to be more transparent.

In the months since, Montgomery County Public Schools has reviewed its policies and procedures and made changes as it works to regain the public’s trust.

This month, the Board of Education elected Julie Yang to serve as its next president. Yang was elected to her four-year term on the board in November 2022...

New Montgomery Co. school board president details plans to regain public trust - WTOP News

Monday, December 9, 2024

Rivera-Oven and Natalie Zimmerman were absent for vote on new @mocoboe officers

In its first meeting with new board members, the Montgomery County school board on Thursday morning unanimously elected Julie Yang, who holds the District 3 seat, to serve as its president for the coming year and District 1 representative Grace Rivera-Oven as vice president.  

“We will fix our attention on our North Star — the student achievement,” Yang said after her election Thursday morning at the school board’s headquarters in Rockville. “We will be a symbol of hope for all our students, families and educators and together … we will strive to change lives and build futures.”..

https://moco360.media/2024/12/05/yang-to-lead-school-board/

Friday, September 27, 2024

Budget Cut Magically Disappears when BOE Member Julie Yang Steps In

The Lost and Found of Chinese Language Program at Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools

...According to Karen He, a Chinese teacher at Montgomery County Public Schools, most of her students are not of Chinese heritage. However, when news spread about the possible cut to the Chinese language program, many Chinese families, whether their children were in the class or not, passionately discussed the issue and brought it to the attention of Montgomery County Public School Education Board members including Julie Yang, who is also Chinese American.

Advocate for Their Language and Pride

Yang took the issue seriously. She explained to the Chinese community that the entire world language program within Montgomery County Public Schools was affected, and the Chinese language program was not the only one impacted. The budget cuts were so severe that many programs beyond language, such as the Montgomery Virtual Academy, had to close. She clarified that this was not discrimination against the Chinese community...

...Yang brought the issue to the attention of the Montgomery County Public Schools central office and the chief of academic programs. She emphasized the importance of maintaining continuity in language programs and the challenges students would face if the Chinese language program were cut.

"They might need to switch to a different language, which wouldn't be as beneficial for their language development," Yang stated.

Lost and Found

A few days into summer break, both Hallie Wells Middle School and Clarksburg Middle School informed their teachers and students that the Chinese language programs would be reinstated—again, without explaining. Neither principal responded to Yuan Media’s interview requests...

Yuan Media

Monday, January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024: Open Meetings Act Objection Filed

The following objection was filed today, January 22, 2024, with the Maryland Open Meetings Act Compliance Board. 

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

Under Maryland Open Meetings Act § 3-305(d)(3), I am filing an objection to the Montgomery County Board of Education's Closed meeting today for failure to comply with the Maryland Open Meetings Act Closed Session requirements.  

Today's Montgomery County Board of Education Closed Session was held without an Open Meeting to vote on whether the Board of Education would go into a Closed Session, and without notice to the public that a meeting would occur today. The Closed Session meeting was not listed on the Board of Education's public calendar (see attached). 
The public learned that there was a Board of Education closed session through media reports after the meeting was held.  
 
Janis Zink Sartucci
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
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.





Friday, December 9, 2022

New @mocoboe members Immediately Left Town for Miami Vacation with rest of BOE and @mcps Superintendent.

Newly elected Board of Education members Grace Rivera-Oven and Julie Yang were on the Montgomery County Board of Education for just 7 days when they left town for Miami with the rest of the Board of Education members. 

This December vacation for the Board of Education and Superintendent will be paid for out of the MCPS Operating Budget.  Remember all those teachers begging for school supplies?  Sorry, the Board of Education and Superintendent needed to get some Miami sun in December.  Buy your own supplies teachers.  


Friday, December 2, 2022

MCPS Board of Education Members Sworn In



The two returning and two new Montgomery County Board of Education members were sworn in Thursday and immediately took their seats.

Board President Brenda Wolff from District 5 and Karla Silverstre, an at-large member, were re-elected in November. Also elected was Grace Rivera-Oven and Julie Yang.

“The success of Montgomery County depends on the success of our children in MCPS,” Silvestre said. “Thank you for your support. We will need it now and into the future.”

Wolff called the previous two years “an incredible journey for us, because we had incredible things to deal with.” Her goal during her second term is to ensure that all students are college or job ready.

Rivera-Oven, who represents District 1 and is a native of Bolivia, promised “to work very hard to ensure your voices and heart,” she said, referring to the students who represent 156 countries and speak 115 languages.

Yang, who represents District 3, said, “Education has made the biggest difference in my life” and referred to her second-grade teacher “who didn’t give up on me.”

While serving on the board, Yang hopes to “have a positive influence on the life trajectory of a student, because every child can succeed if they are given an opportunity to.”

BOE members also honored outgoing members Scott Joftus, who was not re-elected, and Judy Docca, who has been on the board since 2006...

MCPS Board of Education Members Sworn In - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)


Monday, October 31, 2022

Julie Yang Opinion: We need more than business as usual to mitigate staff shortages

MCPS should consider innovative and time-tested efforts to attract and maintain a qualified workforce

It will take more than business as usual to solve the staffing shortage crisis facing our public schools, including in Montgomery County. As a long-time educator, I know firsthand the physical, emotional and mental demands needed to ensure students have every opportunity to succeed. The invisible work carried out by staff inside and outside of the classroom, such as overseeing student clubs or serving as a trusted adult, often goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has operated too long on the same hiring processes and mechanisms to maintain school staffing. I believe we can do better with the staffing situation. What we need is to apply innovative strategies to achieve quality staffing for future years to come...

Opinion: We need more than business as usual to mitigate staff shortages | Bethesda Magazine & Bethesda Beat