Supreme Court Seems in Favor of Deaf Student’s Right to Sue School District Under the ADA

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared inclined to rule in favor of a deaf Michigan student on a key legal question in his lawsuit alleging that his school district failed to provide him adequate educational assistance for 12 years in violation of federal disability law.

Justice Elena Kagan said during the arguments Wednesday that it appeared that the student, Miguel Luna Perez, “did everything right” by accepting a settlement from his school district on his educational claims under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and then filing a lawsuit seeking monetary damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“What should Miguel have done differently from what he did do in this case?” Kagan asked the lawyer representing the 3,000-student Sturgis school district in Sturgis, Mich.

The justices heard 90 minutes of arguments in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools (Case No. 21-887) involving Luna Perez, who is now 27 and was in the courtroom along with several sign-language interpreters to help him comprehend. His underlying lawsuit contends that the Sturgis district failed to provide him with trained sign-language interpreters for years and that he has suffered emotional distress and economic harms from his diminished abilities to communicate...

Supreme Court Seems in Favor of Deaf Student's Right to Sue School District Under the ADA (edweek.org)

the tide: MCPS introduces virtual learning option on closure days

Montgomery County Public Schools announced a new plan for virtual learning on snow days during the Board of Education meeting held Thursday, Jan. 12. A new color code system has been created to indicate the school district’s response according to the severity of winter weather, with Code Green being a normal school day and Code Purple being full virtual learning.

According to the MCPS website, “The approved plan [for Code Purple] has been sent to [Maryland State Department of Education] and…can be used after receiving final approval.” MCPS said it would consider how families and individuals may be affected by the changes. Therefore, the new changes are only confirmed when the school board feels that it is completely necessary and that any harmful impact can be minimized...

MCPS introduces virtual learning option on closure days – The Tide (thermtide.com)

Is @mcps Health Officer Waking Up? [Hint: COVID-19 Hospitalizations are a Lagging Indicator]

 

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE MCPS SCHOOL SYSTEM MEDICAL OFFICER

JANUARY 17, 2023

Dear MCPS Community,

On Thursday, Jan. 12, county leaders shared their concerns about rising rates of COVID-19 in our community. Since hospital admissions for COVID-19 have increased, our county’s community risk level is now at MEDIUM. This stresses the importance of heightened awareness and preventing severe disease in our most vulnerable community members. On our school dashboard, we saw a higher number of positive cases the first week after school reopening, with fewer cases reported the following week.

Everyone should practice healthy habits, which prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. Here are some other steps individuals can take to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in our community:

1. Consider COVID-19 risk when making health decisions.
   Understand COVID-19 risk so you can take extra precautions in high-risk situations, if you have risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection, or are around someone at increased risk. Adults older than 50 years, pregnant people and individuals with certain medical conditions, including diabetes and asthma, are at highest risk from severe disease due to COVID.

2. Wear a mask to prevent spread of infection, especially in high-risk situations.
   Our county health department strongly recommends wearing a well-fitting face covering in crowded indoor spaces. Consider wearing a mask in other situations if you have risk factors, or will be around a family member with risk factors for severe respiratory infection. If you have COVID-19 or have been exposed as a close contact, please mask according to CDC’s isolation and exposure guidelines. Staff and students may be asked to mask temporarily in local outbreak or other high-risk situations.

3. Stay up to date on vaccinations, especially if you have risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection. 
   COVID-19 vaccines are an important way to help prevent severe infection and are approved for those 6 months old and older. Because the effect of vaccines can wane over time, an updated booster provides additional valuable protection against serious illness for individuals at higher risk.  

4. Get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms or a possible exposure.
   It may be difficult to tell if symptoms are from COVID-19 or another flu-like illness. Testing is an important way to identify individuals with active COVID-19 infection, who can then seek care if needed and also avoid spreading the virus to others. Consider testing before spending time with a high-risk family member.  

5. If you test positive for COVID-19:

   • Seek advice from your health care provider promptly if your symptoms are severe or if you are at high risk for a severe respiratory infection. Treatments are available that can help prevent severe disease, and are most helpful when given early.
   • Follow the CDC’s recommended isolation guidelines to reduce spread to others.
   • Staff and students testing positive should report their results using MCPS’ online tool. Reporting results helps MCPS track outbreaks and take measures to reduce further transmission, when an outbreak occurs in our school spaces.  

MCPS continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services to monitor data trends and plan health and safety measures. Internally and with community guidance, we are working on reducing the impact of COVID-19 on our school operations. We thank everyone for their continued support in working together to keep our community healthy.

Sincerely,

Patricia Kapunan, M.D., M.P.H.
MCPS Medical Officer

Update: Gaithersburg High is once again getting attention for the wrong reasons, 4 months after a massive brawl on a football field. Students have circulated concerning photos...

Gaithersburg High is once again getting attention for the wrong reasons, 4 months after a massive brawl on a football field.
As students return to class Tuesday at Richard Montgomery High, families are learning more about a disturbing incident that occurred Friday. @7NewsDC pic.twitter.com/oCPGT45I5H

— John Gonzalez (@John7News) January 17, 2023

+

Extra police and security presence at Richard Montgomery High School this morning after reports of an altercation possibly involving a handgun on Friday. @7NewsDC @MCPS #GaithersburgHighSchool

Extra police and security presence at Richard Montgomery High School this morning after reports of an altercation possibly involving a handgun on Friday. @7NewsDC @MCPS pic.twitter.com/vke60fGjhj

— John Gonzalez (@John7News) January 17, 2023

BREAKING: Board of Education to Award $3.3M Contract to Non-Existent Company on Non-Existent Contract. Why not? No one cares. No oversight. No accountability. #electricschoolbuses

 

These are the names and faces of the Montgomery County Board of Education as of today.  

Not one of them knows how to read a contract or check a document.  Read their resumes here.  Multiple lawyers on the Board of Education, on their staff, and a whole team of lawyers on the MCPS payroll and not one of them can read a contract. 

All that education and it is completely useless. 

~~~

On January 12, 2023, the Montgomery County Board of Education will award a contract for $ 3,330,250 for an unknown number of electric school buses to a company that does not exist. 

The memorandum from MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight says she is requesting a contract EXTENSION with a company called Highland Electric Transportation, Inc.

There is currently no such company by that name.

If this were an EXTENSION of a previous contract for electric school buses then the name of the company granted the extension would be HET MCPS, LLC.  That's the company the Board of Education voted to award the original electric school bus contract. That's the name on the existing contract. 

Want to see the existing contract? We have a copy. Here is what the first page looks like:

See the name of the company that the Board of Education contracted with to supply electric school buses?  HET MCPS, LLC.

But wait, there's more. The original contract was for FOUR YEARS.

That contract hasn't expired yet.  

Why then is MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight requesting a contract extension tomorrow for one year?  The first contract hasn't expired.

Why does MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight want a new contract, with a company that doesn't exist, for an unknown number of electric school buses in the middle of the existing contract? 

We can guarantee that this question will not be answered at the Thursday, January 12, 2023, Board of Education meeting.  This item is already on the CONSENT AGENDA which means Board of Education members are being told to unanimously vote approval without questions.

Millions and millions of education dollars are being spent without any accountability, oversight or transparency. How is that working out for MCPS classrooms?

BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 10—Before school today, teachers with the @mceanea teachers union rallied outside Blair’s main entrance to raise awareness for educator working conditions ahead of contract negotiations with MCPS tomorrow evening.

BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL, Jan. 10—Before school today, teachers with the @mceanea teachers union rallied outside Blair’s main entrance to raise awareness for educator working conditions ahead of contract negotiations with MCPS tomorrow evening. pic.twitter.com/DWYjcGEKBA

— Silver Chips (@Silver_Chips) January 10, 2023

Maryland hospitals and emergency rooms are stretched dangerously thin. The Maryland Hospital Association says most hospitals are more than 90% full and many are already at 100% capacity. @7NewsDC @mhaonline

Maryland hospitals and emergency rooms are stretched dangerously thin. The Maryland Hospital Association says most hospitals are more than 90% full and many are already at 100% capacity. @7NewsDC @mhaonline pic.twitter.com/qsXtwEU4j6

— John Gonzalez (@John7News) January 10, 2023

MCPS considers pellet guns to be "toys"

Bethesda Beat

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2023/01/10/police-retrieve-pellet-gun-at-gaithersburg-ms-mcps-says/

Police retrieve pellet gun at Gaithersburg MS, MCPS says

Toy weapon confiscated, according to spokesperson

Police responding to a call Tuesday from Gaithersburg Middle School retrieved a toy gun, a school spokesperson said in an email.

If it's just a toy, then why were police called?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6876209/

BB and pellet guns--toys or deadly weapons?

W Harris, A Luterman, P W Curreri

• PMID: 6876209
 
• DOI: 10.1097/00005373-198307000-00004

Abstract

BB and pellet weapons are not included in gun control laws and are often sold as children's toys. Injuries caused by these weapons have been considered trivial unless they involve vulnerable surface organs such as the eye. The purpose of this study was to review the management of six cases of pellet or BB gun injuries that required abdominal exploration at the University of South Alabama Medical Center from January 1980 through June 1982. Five of the six patients had significant internal injuries including perforations of the stomach, jejunum, liver, and pancreas. The ballistics of pneumatic weapons are reviewed. The muzzle velocities of many of these weapons necessitate that wounds caused by these weapons be handled with the same principles as for any small-caliber, low-velocity (less than 1,200 feet/second) weapons. Public education programs are urgently needed to educate parents as to the potential danger involved in purchasing these weapons for unsupervised use as toys by children.

MCPS Ombudsman quietly disappears

According to reports from parents, the MCPS Ombudsman has become nonresponsive to phone calls, phone messages and emails.

The Ombudsman's name is not listed on the MCPS web site, although a link on the MCPS Ombudsman points to Ryvell_D_Fitzpatrick@mcpsmd.org as an email address for the Ombudsman.  A LinkedIn profile matching that name can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryvell-dontae-fitzpatrick-j-d-imagineer-397255146/

No one at the Ombudsman's phone number is answering questions about the whereabouts of the Ombudsman.

Happening Now: Supreme Court of Maryland to hold open meeting on proposed Maryland Rules changes dealing with electronic recordings of criminal cases

 Washington Post reporting on this hearing at this link. 

*******

Media Advisory
Supreme Court of Maryland to hold open meeting on proposed Maryland Rules changes dealing with electronic recordings of criminal cases

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On Friday, January 6, 2023, the Supreme Court of Maryland will hold an open meeting via videoconferencing on proposed Rules changes submitted by the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules Committee) beginning at 2:30 p.m. The meeting and proposed changes are in light of the Memorandum Opinion and Judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, entered on December 9, 2022, declaring Code, Criminal Procedure Article, § 1-201 unconstitutional as applied to lawfully obtained audio or video recordings of criminal proceedings. See Soderberg v. Carrion, Civ. No. RDB 19-1559 (D. Md.).

The Rules Committee submitted its Two Hundred and Thirteenth Report, recommending the adoption, on an interim and emergency basis, of new Rule 16-504.1 and amendments to Rules 2-804, 16-502, 16-503, 16-504, 16-901, and 16-914. Interested persons are asked to consider the committee’s report and proposed Rules changes and to forward on or before January 4, 2023, any written comments they may wish to make to rules@mdcourts.gov or to Sandra F. Haines, Esq., Reporter, Rules Committee, 580 Taylor Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401.

WHO:             Supreme Court of Maryland

WHAT:           Open meeting on the Two Hundred and Thirteenth Report of the Rules Committee

WHEN:           Friday, January 6, 2023, 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:         Supreme Court of Maryland
                       Open meeting via videoconferencing
                       Webcast

NOTE: Please contact the Maryland Judiciary’s Government Relations and Public Affairs office, communications@mdcourts.gov or 410-260-1488, for questions. For information about the webcast and to request permission to address the Court, contact Gregory Hilton, Clerk, Supreme Court of Maryland, 410-260-1500 or 800-926-2583.

###

CONTACT:
Bradley Tanner
Public Information Officer
bradley.tanner@mdcourts.gov
410-260-1488

Terri Charles
Asst. Public Information Officer
terri.charles@mdcourts.gov
410-260-1488
 

Virginia Attorney General Investigating One Incident at One School. [This would NEVER happen in Maryland.]

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announces an investigation into TJ High School due to a delay in telling students that they had been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/bfJ7AYT3sn

— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) January 4, 2023

New COVID subvariant spreads rapidly in Northeast, sparking concerns it evades vaccines

 New COVID subvariant spreads rapidly in Northeast, sparking concerns it evades vaccines | PBS NewsHour

Maryland Catholic Conference will support bill to eliminate statute of limitations, but only for future cases of abuse

The lobbying group that represents Maryland’s Catholic churches said Monday that it will support legislation in the upcoming state General Assembly session that would eliminate the statute of limitations in civil suits involving future cases of child sexual abuse.

While throwing its support behind the legislation, at least as it applies to future cases, the Maryland Catholic Conference at the same time indicated it would continue to oppose a provision that survivors and their advocates have long fought for — a “look back window” that would give survivors a two-year period in which to file lawsuits alleging abuse in the past, regardless of when the abuse occurred...

...The conference’s statement also comes after The Baltimore Sun reported that the church has spent more than $200,000 in recent years to prevent lawmakers from expanding the state’s statute of limitations arising from sexual abuse claims.

The legislation in question is a bill written by a group of survivors and their attorneys. Originally titled the “Hidden Predator Act,” it would establish the two-year window for past cases. Other states, including Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., have established such look-back windows for civil suits...

Maryland Catholic Conference will support bill to eliminate statute of limitations, but only for future cases of abuse – Baltimore Sun

AXIOS: Electric school buses are practically free now [Bus not for @mcps @mocoboe! They prefer to skip grants!]

Federal and state governments are practically giving away electric school buses, and if your local district doesn't have its hand up yet, it should. The math is a no-brainer...

...The catch: An electric school bus costs $350,000 to $450,000 — three to four times a traditional diesel bus — and most districts can't afford the upfront expense, despite the long-term savings.

What's happening: A bunch of new government incentives make replacing aging diesel fleets an easy call.

• The five-year, $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, approved in November 2021 as part of the infrastructure law and run by the Environmental Protection Agency, pays school districts up to $375,000 to replace a diesel bus with an electric one.
• The government offers another $20,000 for charging infrastructure, for a total of $395,000 per bus purchased....

School districts get billions for electric school buses (axios.com)

How many times will @mcps @mocoboe buy GPS/Bus Tracking App for School Buses and still not use it?

💲💲💲  On December 20, 2022, Montgomery County Superintendent Monifa McKnight announced that she was requesting $1.5 million in funding in the MCPS Operating Budget for a school bus tracking app.

Again? 

MCPS school buses are already equipped with GPS and tracking apps.  How many times is this function going to be "funded" for MCPS school buses?  

To date, none of the previous purchases have been put into use. 

2016

The Board of Education contracted with Force Multiplier Solutions to put a GPS tracking system on all MCPS school buses.  

"Real time GPS."

2017

GPS was installed on all MCPS school buses at no charge. 

2019

The Bus Patrol School Bus Safety System™ is capable of equipping every school bus in MCPS’ fleet with interior, exterior, and stop-arm enforcement video cameras with recording and real-time viewing capabilities, and live and historical Global Positioning System (GPS) location reporting

2020

"...there is an addition of $750,000 for school bus mobile apps for tracking real-time GPS..."

2022

1. Introduce School Bus Tracking Software
   For MCPS families, the budget recommends an app that allows users to track their child's school bus in real time. ($1.5 million)

Baltimore County schools’ chief auditor settles ‘retaliation’ lawsuit against the school board

The Baltimore County Public Schools and its chief auditor have settled their court case in which Andrea Barr alleged school board members in May engineered her firing to punish her for not following their orders regarding an external audit.

Under the agreement obtained by WYPR under the Maryland Public Information Act, the school board will pay Barr $115,000 in non-economic damages and attorney’s fees. Barr also gets a new employment contract.

In exchange, Barr agreed to withdraw complaints she had filed with the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education.

In the agreement, board members admit to doing nothing wrong.

Eric Brousaides, an attorney for the school board, did not return requests for comment...

Baltimore County schools’ chief auditor settles ‘retaliation’ lawsuit against the school board | WYPR

Suicidology update: School closures & Child suicide

Suicidology update: School closures & Child suicide

These economists *really* analyse the data in technical ways to demonstrate the key point i made way back:

Child suicide dropped tremendously when "school shutdowns highest," & increased when schools opened

/1 https://t.co/FCPntLPWXK pic.twitter.com/NicpgfvNwn

— Tyler Black, MD (@tylerblack32) December 26, 2022

Fairfax County parents call for accountability after national merit award scandal

 

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — A group of Fairfax County parents is demanding action after they say administrators at one of the top high schools in northern Virginia delayed informing students that they had qualified for a national award...

Parents upset over Thomas Jefferson HS delay in notifying students of national merit award | WJLA

WTOP: App for bus tracking, free AP testing and extended school year calendar in proposed MCPS budget

As she unveiled a new budget proposal for Montgomery County Public Schools, Superintendent Monifa McKnight said Monday that the Maryland school system had a piece of technology in the works.

“We will be investing in an app for families to track their child’s bus, so that they know where it is and when it’s coming,” McKnight said...

App for bus tracking, free AP testing and extended school year calendar in proposed MCPS budget - WTOP News