Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) regrets reporting another serious process issue that should have been addressed years ago. Today, MCPS is releasing a Background Screening Action Plan to correct systemic failures in our employee background screening systems identified in a Montgomery County Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. While the report brings attention to issues dating back to at least 2019, our primary focus is on uncovering the full extent of the problems and taking swift, serious action to resolve them. We also note that the report contains significant inaccuracies and mischaracterizations that have, at times, hindered the urgent work needed to protect students and maintain public confidence. You may review the Action Plan here. 

Superintendent Dr. Thomas W. Taylor submitted a written response to the report to Megan Limarzi, the Montgomery County Inspector General, acknowledging persistent issues in the background screening process that the previous administrations failed to correct. While MCPS fully owns the need to address these failures, the district also stands by its criticisms of certain findings in the report, just as the OIG stands by its conclusions.

To be clear: every employee has always been required to complete a criminal background check before beginning work, with no one allowed to start until the check returns without any disqualifying items as outlined by law or policy. However, longstanding gaps in this process—particularly regarding CPS checks and post-hire monitoring—were not addressed for years by previous administrations. Under new leadership, MCPS is now correcting them.

“Nothing is more important to this school system than our duty of care for the students we serve and the families who entrust their children to MCPS,” Dr. Taylor said. “Our team is already implementing our action plan to close these gaps. While we have concerns with the Inspector General’s report, the underlying issues it raises should have been addressed years ago. This work is our focus, it is important, and it will be done.”

What MCPS Has Done Under New Leadership
MCPS has moved with urgency to address the findings; the Action Plan for Background Screening Reform includes steps that are already underway or complete:

• Launched a real-time cross-agency clearance tracker for all new employees, contractors, and volunteers to ensure NO individual begins work without a criminal background and CPS clearance. (Done July 2025)
• Transitioned from a paper-based system–physically transported between agencies–to an online submission and tracking portal used by the Maryland Department of Human Services to process CPS checks.  While tools like the portal and cross-agency coordination protocols were available in prior years, they had not been implemented. Under new leadership, MCPS moved with urgency to adopt these solutions—cutting CPS processing times from 4–6 weeks to just a few business days. (Done July 2025)
• Re-fingerprinting all employees not in RapBack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) service that allows notification and continuous monitoring of an individual’s criminal activity—to be completed no later than the end of the 2025–2026 school year.  This work was actually started in 2019, but was paused during the pandemic and was not restarted when staff came back in person.  
• All employees will receive new ID badges once they are re-cleared. The badges will have information indicating that employees have completed the updated process.
• A renewed request to DHHS and the state Department of Human Services for the resources and system access necessary to expedite CPS checks.

MCPS will also provide annual training, enhanced monitoring, and stronger accountability systems to support consistent implementation of screening and reporting requirements in every school and department.  An important step in MCPS’s response is to review prior decision-making and process breakdowns to ensure full accountability.

The Inconsistencies and Mischaracterizations
Among the most troubling mischaracterizations in the OIG’s process and findings are:

• Overstated Involvement of Child Welfare Services (CWS): The report inaccurately describes the time, role, and effort that CWS devotes to processing CPS background checks for MCPS.
• Mischaracterization of Scope of Authority to Correct Issues: The Inspector General recommends that MCPS unilaterally clear the CPS backlog, despite the fact–confirmed repeatedly by both the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Maryland Department of Human Services– that MCPS does not hold the legal authority to conduct or finalize these checks.
• Delayed Disclosure of Critical Information: The Inspector General failed to alert MCPS leadership to the full extent of the issues in a timely manner, delaying urgent corrective action by withholding critical information for months while directing MCPS not to share the draft findings with responsible partner agencies.

Dr. Taylor noted that while the Inspector General’s office eventually incorporated some corrections following repeated clarifications from MCPS staff, the identified inaccuracies remain in the final publication. 

“While we are disappointed in aspects of the process that led us to this point, our focus remains on addressing what turned out to be longstanding process issues and making lasting improvements,” Dr. Taylor said in his letter to the Inspector General. “We acknowledge where our systems are not working well and are committed to doing everything necessary to strengthen safety for the benefit of students, staff, and families.”

A Call for Collaboration
MCPS is committed to reform and accountability, because real solutions require honest, accurate, and collaborative engagement among all agencies entrusted with student safety.

“Our school system cannot—and should not—do this alone,” said Dr. Taylor. “We urge our partners at the state and county level to work with us. The public deserves real progress, and above all, real safety.”

MCPS remains committed to working transparently with all stakeholders and partner agencies to achieve full compliance and restore trust in this essential area of student safety.

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