Montgomery County Public Schools boosts discipline policy amid rise of violent incidents

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is enacting sweeping changes to its student discipline policy in response to a recent uptick in violent incidents, including bomb threats, weapons on campus, and assaults on staff. S

Starting this fall, students who commit the most serious offenses could face long-term suspension or even expulsion. The updated Code of Conduct reclassifies threats and violent actions as Level 4 or 5 violations — the highest disciplinary categories under the district’s new guidelines.

Offenses such as making bomb threats, physically assaulting school personnel, or bringing weapons onto school property will now carry the most severe consequences.

The move comes after several alarming events during the current school year.

At Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, two lockdowns in one week in February forced administrators and first responders into emergency mode — one incident involved shots fired near campus, and another centered around a student bringing an airsoft gun to school. These kinds of threats used to be considered minor, but that’s no longer the case.

Data supports the shift. Last year, MCPS recorded 221 weapon-related incidents — an 11% increase over the previous year. Bomb threats also saw a similar rise...

https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-public-schools-mcps-bomb-threats-weapons-on-campus-and-assaults-on-staff-bethesda-chevy-chase-high-school-lockdown-counseling-services-behavior-intervention-programs-weapons-related-incidents-alternative-learning-options

@MCPS will hold a 5:30p meeting w/ @TSWoottonHS football families after @mcpnews was called to investigate a “serious incident” in the varsity football team’s locker room yesterday.

I’m told press will not be allowed inside 👉 info shared w/@fox5dc said @MCPS will hold a 5:30p meeting w/@TSWoottonHS football families after @mcpnews was called to investigate a “serious incident” in the varsity football team’s locker room yesterday. @MCPS confirmed (1/2) pic.twitter.com/PuyzQGcmjT

— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) November 3, 2021

Montgomery Co. parent says bodycams show police abuse, threaten child inside school

The parent of a Montgomery County Public Schools student is suing both the school system and the county police department following an incident in 2020 involving her Maryland child.

Parent Shanta Grant, who filed the lawsuit, said her son was able to walk away from East Silver Spring Elementary last year without being noticed. She said once police found the boy, about two-tenths of a mile away, officers were verbally abusive, threatening, and even put a handcuff on the child once he was taken back to the school...

https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2021/01/montgomery-co-parent-says-body-cams-show-police-abuse-threaten-child-inside-mcps-school/?fbclid=IwAR2ATtlMLzxZuTG86PO_num2qezaqq34K6D42RK_W7runJWoz_USEfhjkQ8

FYI: Statement of Dr. Ursula A. Hermann, Director, Department of Student Services Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland NASP Briefing: Effective Discipline Policies and Practices Thursday, April 18, 2013

Presentation given to National Association of School Psychologists
by MCPS administrator on MCPS discipline policies. 

   MCPS District Overview Testimony by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

How much does MCPS pay to fire an employee?

A recent bill for legal services from the primary MCPS outside attorney shows a rate of $376 per hour.

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Maryland School Discipline Analysis Shows Racial Disparities

Researchers from the Institute of Education Sciences' Mid-Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, working in partnership with the state's department of education to analyze data from the 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 school years, found that "in all 24 Maryland school systems, black students received out-of-school suspension or expulsion at more than twice the rate of white students."

The report also showed higher rates of classroom removal for special education students, and researchers found that black students had higher rates of out-of-school suspension or expulsion than did Hispanic or white students. Says the report:

"These disparities are a concern because exclusionary discipline has been linked to poor academic achievement, grade retention, recurrent misbehavior, dropout, juvenile delinquency, and other undesirable outcomes."...full article at link below... 

Education Week:  Maryland School Discipline Analysis Shows Racial Disparities

  2014 Disproportionality in Maryland Report by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery student disciplinary decisions to include more discretion

Montgomery County school administrators will be able to use their discretion when it comes to deciding appropriate disciplinary action against students involved in major offenses after the state school board’s adoption Tuesday of new regulations.
In addition, the regulations call long-term suspensions and expulsions as “last resort options,” and outline the actions required of schools to help suspended students receive certain services, according to the state board’s proposed regulation.
Montgomery County Public Schools — along with other Maryland school districts — have until the beginning of next school year to update their policies...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20140131/NEWS/140209999/1144/montgomery-student-disciplinary-decisions-to-include-more-discretion&template=gazette

WPost: Maryland approves new school discipline regulations

Maryland education leaders approved the most sweeping changes in decades to state discipline policies Tuesday morning, culminating a four-year effort intended to reform approaches to student punishment, increase time in school and end racial disparities in suspensions.
The Maryland State Board of Education’s action — approved in a 10-0 vote with one abstention and one member absent — comes at a time when school officials nationally are reconsidering their disciplinary measures. Three weeks ago, Obama administration officials called for a broad rethinking of student discipline and issued the first set of federal discipline guidelines for the nation’s schools...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/maryland-approves-new-school-discipline-regulations/2014/01/28/c11ad4de-8385-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html