Bills of Interest for Families Coping with Substance Use Disorder

   2017 SUD Legislative Priorities by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

... funds would be used to provide a 4.5 percent pay raise for all college employees

Montgomery College President Asks County Council To Fully Fund Its Budget Request To Pay for Staff Raises: Leggett’s proposed budget for the college falls about million short, according to the school’s president

In Finland, Kids Learn Computer Science Without Computers

The Finns are pretty bemused by Americans’ preoccupation with whether to put iPads in every classroom. If a tablet would enhance learning, great. If it wouldn’t, skip it. Move on. The whole thing is a little tilting-at-windmills, anyway.

That was the gist of the conversation one recent morning at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., where diplomats and experts gathered to celebrate the country’s education accomplishments as Finland turns 100. And Americans could stand to take notes. (Yes, from Finland—again.)

 Coding and programming are now part of the curriculum in the Scandinavian country, and they’re subjects kids tackle from a young age. But unlike in some parts of the United States where learning to code is an isolated skill, Finnish children are taught to think of coding and programming more as tools to be explored and utilized across multiple subjects...

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/02/teaching-computer-science-without-computers/517548/

Popular Online Database Leads School Kids to Porn

EBSCO Information Services offers online library resources to public and private elementary, middle and high schools. But it has a dark side! EBSCO has been targeted as one of the “Dirty Dozen” posted this week by NCOSE. Out of all of the companies profiting from sexual exploitation and pornography, this one is the by far the most disturbing. In fact, NCOSE’s research has uncovered links from EBSCO online products to “torture porn sites and instructions for how young boys can pressure girls into trying dangerous sexual activities.”...

https://protectyoungminds.org/2017/02/23/educational-library-portal-porn/

Leggett not supportive of funding artificial turf fields. ICB drops oversight of MCPS spending of funds.

From the minutes of the March 2016, meeting of the Interagency Coordinating Board (ICB) the public learns that the ICB has a fund balance of an unknown amount, and that County Executive Ike Leggett was not supportive of spending any of that fund balance on artificial turf fields.

The public also learns that at this meeting the ICB decided to drop reviewing how MCPS spends ICB funds allocated to schools.  Instead, the ICB voted to transfer that oversight to the already overworked MCPS internal auditors.  The ICB decided that MCPS would now be on the "honor system" to spend ICB funds as per policy.  

   2.0 Final Minutes March 16 2016 Final Version by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

MCPS Does Not Report Class Fees to County Council #illegal #extortion #slushfund #appropriation #altfacts

Please ask a question: *

Where in the MCPS Operating budget is the money collected from curricular fees accounted for? Thank you.

Ms. Sartucci,

Thank you for the question regarding curricular fees.  Every school provides without charge the textbooks, supplementary readers, audio/visual aids, stationery, and materials of instruction necessary to teach the curriculum or needed by the students to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum through the MCPS Operating budget. The decision to charge curricular fees for designated courses is determined at the school level. An allowable maximum fee has been established for each designated course and must be specific to the course and cost of the item(s) (rounded to the nearest dollar for ease of accounting)—no overcharge may be assessed to paying students to offset the costs absorbed by the school for students who are unable to pay. Course related fees are collected by the school and deposited to the school’s Independent Activity Funds account.  These fees are not accounted for as part of the Operating Budget revenue since they are managed at the school level.  If you have any additional questions regarding course related fees, please contact Dr. Arronza M. LaBatt, Executive Director of School Support and Improvement at 301-279-3994 or via Arronza_M_LaBatt@mcpsmd.org

Nancy Austin
Budget Unit
Carver Educational Services Center
850 Hungerford Drive, Room 170
Rockville, MD  20850
Nancy_Austin@mcpsmd.org
301-279-3547

...out of some 12 counselors at Blair, only one is Spanish-speaking...

...Across the country, suburbs like Montgomery County are going through a metamorphosis, shedding the cocoon of highly educated affluence for a new identity that is browner, poorer, and far more ethnically diverse: “It’s a whole new scenario,” Portela said, “with the same rules and procedures we had from 30 years ago when the county was mostly white.” An influx of English-language learners and refugee students is altering the look and feel of suburban schools—as school districts respond to the dramatic shift with mixed results, and against the backdrop of a rising anti-immigrant climate...

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/02/the-non-white-student-behind-the-white-picket-fence/518097/

Medical Alert: Eyestrain Common for Kids Staring at Screens Too Long

...“Eyestrain is a common complaint for kids who are really looking at screens too much,” says Dr. Scott Krugman of Medstar Franklin Square Hospital.
Eyestrain is a serious concern, along with musculoskeletal discomforts that include neck and back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome. But there’s another troubling concern says Franklin Square Medstar department of pediatrics chairman: lack of sleep...

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/02/24/medical-alert-eyestrain-common-for-kids-staring-at-screens-too-long/

Montgomery County is unusual, if not unique, in creating such a program.

In a science class at Lakelands Park Middle School, 13-year-old Mike Keller sat between his professional aide and his science partner during a lesson about how force affects balance. The Montgomery County teen, who has autism, stood up a few times in a burst of energy and once walked out of the room. But with some redirection from his aide, he appeared to focus on a series of questions that his teacher posted on the whiteboard.
His teacher asked him an easy yes-or-no question at one point, and as an aide held a keyboard in front of him, Mike typed the word “Yes” on the iPad, followed by a touch of sarcasm: “Duh.”
Mike is not able to speak. He points at letters on a laminated alphabet board or types on a keyboard that an aide holds. Nationally, most students who can’t talk are in self-contained classrooms or autism programs or, like Mike used to be, in a separate school for students with severe disabilities.
But five years ago, Mike and his mother traveled to Texas to explore a novel communication technique called Rapid Prompting Method that led to what his family describes as a breakthrough. About a year later, he joined a new pilot program in Montgomery County Public Schools for autistic students who rely on keyboards and communication partners...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/parents-of-autistic-children-are-pushing-schools-to-allow-controversial-communication-techniques/2017/02/28/1bd33da2-ed6a-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html?utm_term=.1df8072f08f7

MCPS: Elementary School - Do not put Chromebooks on laps

Safe Tech for Schools Maryland: Fields Road Elementary School Reducing Wireless Ex...: MCPS School Chromebook Guidelines state"the Chromebook should be kept on a hard surface, not your lap".  This image is from instru...

Superintendent Jack R. Smith is Opposed to Guidelines on Screen Time for Public School Students

All 24 public school superintendents in the state of Maryland, including our Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack R. Smith, are opposed to legislation to protect children from computer vision syndrome and other consequences of unrestricted screen time in public schools.  

   HB 866 Health & Safety Digital Devices - W&M 2-24 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Blair High School needs new artificial surface field

SILVER SPRING – Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is having Montgomery Blair High School’s artificial turf field replaced after a retest showed the field was unsafe and within a year of the end of its useful life.
John Nissel, deputy director of operations, said the warrantee for the field managed by M-NCPPC is due to expire in August.
“It’s like if you buy a car and it wears out before the warrantee; it’s certainly not what you paid for,” said Nissel, referring to the field lasting seven years and four months...

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/newsx/local/item/4905-blair-high-school-needs-new-artificial-surface-field

15th annual "Preparing for Success" program for local students

Montgomery College and the Montgomery County Women's Bar Foundation are hosting the 15th annual "Preparing for Success" program for local students. The all-day seminar program is designed for middle school and high school students and parents. This year's theme is "Navigating Life, the Streets and Social Media". The event will be a town hall discussion that kicks off with a key note speaker and follows with presentations on safety issues that teens and parents face each day. The program is free to students and parents. A light breakfast and lunch will be served to attendees. Students have a chance to win prizes and giveaways for their active participation.

http://preparing4success.com/parents-agenda/

Police: Kensington School Bus Driver Charged With Sexually Abusing Two Young Girls on Bus

Police: Kensington School Bus Driver Charged With Sexually Abusing Two Young Girls on Bus: Drove routes for Rockview Elementary School, plus Newport Middle and Einstein High

Maryland House OKs bill limiting school testing

The Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill Tuesday that would limit the amount of time school districts can spend on testing.
The Less Testing, More Learning Act sailed through with minimal debate on a 139-0 vote....

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-less-testing-20170228-story.html

almost a third of the 50,000 Chromebooks he manages became "stuck in a state of flickering between a login screen and a 'Network not available' screen." - CTO Sherwin Collette did not respond to a request for comment.

...Six days ago, an IT administrator with Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland reported that following the update to Chrome version 56, almost a third of the 50,000 Chromebooks he manages became "stuck in a state of flickering between a login screen and a 'Network not available' screen." He also said that some of the roughly 45,000 Windows PCs he manages were affected. The admin said Blue Coat 6.5 doesn't appear to support TLS 1.3.

Attempts to reach the administrator via phone and email were unsuccessful and Montgomery County Public Schools' CTO Sherwin Collette did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Google engineer David Benjamin, the issue is that Blue Coat implements TLS 1.3 incorrectly. "[Blue Coat was] made aware of TLS 1.3 several months ago, but evidently did not test [its] software per our instructions," he wrote. Benjamin did not respond to further requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Symantec, which acquired Blue Coat last year, told The Register in an email, "Symantec has been alerted of a potential issue with TLS 1.3 on selected devices. We're investigating now and are working to resolve the issue."...

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/02/27/blue_coat_chokes_on_chrome_encryption_update/

Virginia Governor Signs Teacher Misconduct Reporting Law

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.) signed a new law to protect students from teachers who engage in sexual misconduct.

The law requires all Virginia school districts to report cases of possible misconduct to the Virginia Department of Education within 10 days of learning of the allegations. Sponsors of the legislation said they sought new law because of the findings of a December investigation by the News-4 I-Team, which showed Fairfax County Public Schools waited years before formally requesting license revocation for four teachers who admitted sexual misconduct.

Source: Virginia Governor Signs Teacher Misconduct Reporting Law | NBC4 Washington http://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/Virginia-Governor-Signs-Teacher-Misconduct-Reporting-Law-415008953.html#ixzz4a6JvkvMg
Follow us: @nbcwashington on Twitter | NBCWashington on Facebook

The 15 Highest-Paid Montgomery County Employees in 2016

The 15 Highest-Paid Montgomery County Employees in 2016: Chief administrative officer tops list

State BOE has primary jurisdiction over HoCo Superintendent Dispute with HoCo Board of Ed @SuperHCPSS

   BOE Howard Co. v. Foose v. BOE Howard Co. Opin. No. 17-08 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Maryland DHMH Contradicts MoCo Board of Education: National Guidelines on the Use of Digital Devices in Classrooms is Not Available

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene contradicts the Montgomery County Board of Education's assertion that federal regulations already exist regarding health and safety issues surrounding the use of computers and screens in public school classrooms.  

   2017 Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd