The Montgomery County Board of Education (Board) met on Tuesday, September 11, 2018, at Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville.  During the meeting, the Board received a presentation and discussed curricular instructional materials; took final action on Policy JED, Residency, Tuition, and Enrollment; made a technical amendment to Policy BLB, Rules of Procedure in Appeals and Hearings; took tentative action on Policy KEA, Political Campaign and Political Materials; and voted on a previous new business item regarding the availability of contraceptives in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).

The agenda for the meeting, with links to related materials, can be viewed on the Board of Education website.

Board of Education Policies

Final Action:  Board Policy JED, Residency, Tuition, and Enrollment

On April 12, 2018, the Board tentatively approved Policy JED, Residency, Tuition, and Enrollment and distributed the policy for public comment.  As a result of additional review by MCPS staff members and additional research, including the review of Maryland State Board of Education opinions, revisions were made to the policy regarding the matter of evaluating a student’s bona fide residence.  The Board approved the revised policy.

Read the memorandum and the revised policy.

Technical Amendment:  Board Policy BLB, Rules of Procedure in Appeals and Hearings

During the 2018 Legislative Session, the Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 639, which modified the procedures for suspending or dismissing a teacher, principal, supervisor, assistant superintendent, or other professional assistant by authorizing such an individual to request a hearing before an arbitrator instead of the local board of education. The Board’s Policy Management Committee (Committee) and staff members identified Policy BLB, Rules of Procedure in Appeals and Hearings, to be updated to ensure compliance with the new law, which becomes effective on October 1, 2018.  Board members voted to approve the updated policy with the technical amendments recommended by the Committee, in order to comply with Senate Bill 639.

Read the memorandum and the approved, updated policy.

Tentative Action:  Board Policy KEA, Political Campaigns and Political Materials

On July 19, 2018, the Board’s Policy Management Committee reviewed Policy KEA, Political Campaigns and Political Materials.  During the review process, the Committee recommended that the name of the policy be changed to Civic Engagement, Political Campaigns, and Political Materials, which reflects the desire to permit students to receive excused absences for participation in civic engagement activities.  The revised policy was presented to the Board at the September 11 meeting, and Board members took tentative action, voting to send the revised policy out for public comment for 30 days.  The Committee will consider the public comments and propose any additional language changes before recommending that the Board take final action on the policy at a future Board meeting.

Read the memorandum and proposed revised policy.

Previous New Business Item

During the August 30, 2018, Board meeting, Board Member Jill Ortman-Fouse presented to the Board a new business resolution which seeks to have condoms available to students in high school health rooms districtwide, coupled with the education about preventing sexually transmitted infections.  This new business item remained on the table until the September 11, 2018, meeting, during which time, the Board engaged in further discussion and took action on the proposed resolution. 

During a robust discussion, the Board agreed that “all high schools” within the resolution includes, not only all comprehensive high schools, but also the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA) and Blair G. Ewing Center.  In addition, Superintendent Jack R. Smith voiced the administration’s intentions to work with DHHS on a communication plan with MCPS families regarding this issue.

The Board approved a revised resolution that included renaming the resolution to “Availability of Contraceptives in Montgomery County Public Schools” and the following amendment:

Resolved, That Montgomery County Public Schools and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services enter into an agreement related to the availability of condoms in all high schools and iron out the details related to this issue, so that this agreement may be executed with all deliberate speed, not to exceed October 1, 2018.

Read the revised resolution as proposed originally, as well as the adopted resolution.

Presentation and Discussion on Curricular Instructional Materials

The chief academic officer and staff members presented information to Board members regarding the ongoing process of identifying and purchasing externally developed curricular and instructional materials for kindergarten through Grade 8, in English Language Arts and mathematics, including Algebra I. 

Staff stressed the importance of maintaining communication with stakeholders and the MCPS community throughout the selection and implementation process.  In addition, staff members presented information about vendor selection, including the expansion of the number of stakeholders involved in this part of the process, and the timeline for the selection process; a timeline for the phase-in for literacy and mathematics to full implementation; the professional learning progression; current year implications; and next steps for stakeholder engagement, which includes regular messages to the community, additional stakeholder engagement sessions, gathering additional community feedback through the MCPS website, and the formation of a curriculum implementation team for the purposes of defining and developing guidelines for professional learning and implementation of the new curriculum.

Facilities and School Construction

The Board of Education awarded contracts for the Luxmanor Elementary School and the Potomac Elementary School revitalization/expansion projects.

Recognitions

The Board approved a resolution in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month for September 15 to October 15, 2018.

Future Meetings

The Board of Education will hold its next regular business meeting on Monday, September 24, 2018.  Please check the Board of Education website and meeting calendar for further information. 

About the Board of Education
The Montgomery County Board of Education is the official educational policymaking body in the county. The Board is responsible for the direction and operation of the public school system. The Board consists of seven county residents elected by voters for a four-year term and a student elected by secondary school students for a one-year term. Board members are elected countywide but run at-large or from the Board district in which they reside.

Montgomery County Board of Education: Mr. Michael Durso, president; Mrs. Shebra Evans, vice president. Members: Ms. Jeanette E. Dixon, Dr. Judith Docca, Mrs. Patricia O’Neill, Ms. Jill Ortman-Fouse, Mrs. Rebecca Smondrowski, and Ms. Ananya Tadikonda, student member. Dr. Jack R. Smith, superintendent of schools and secretary-treasurer. Office of the Board: 240-740-3030.