001The time is now 6:06 p.m. Good evening and welcome to the February 17th, 2026 meeting of the Disability Issues Advisory Board. My name is Teresa Smith and I serve as the chair of the Disability Issues Advisory Board. Thank you all for joining this evening. I am pleased to welcome Mr. Darnell Henderson, general counsel for Prince George's County Public Schools, who is joining us tonight. For those unable to observe now, the meeting is being recorded and can be accessed on the PGCPS YouTube channel for later viewing. For members, as a reminder, please keep your microphones muted unless you are speaking. just have one other item that I wanted to highlight really quick. Last week, I just want to acknowledge the incredible presence of our families at the budget listening sessions. Um, it wasn't about the numbers
002more so than the advocacy that filled the room as well as stories about the children that were being represented. What struck me the most was hearing parents advocate about the power of fit. So whether it was about a language immersion program, a specialized IB track, or a specific support setting, those are not just options for our families. They are the essential environments where our unique scholars finally feel seen and successful. So seeing that level of advocacy tailored towards education reminds us why we are here today to ensure every child has a seat at the table that they actually fit in. Miss Patrick, can you take the role? Yes. In no particular order, board member Aakay, Stephanie Black, There you go. Thank you, Stephanie Blackwell. Sarah Burn, Trisha Dorsy, >> present, >> Sylvia Amaya, Tangela Myers,
003Irma Catrell, >> present. Rachel Doyle, Erica Winggate Robinson, >> present. >> Trenel Bowman, >> present. >> Christopher Dwire, Janie Payne, >> present. >> I am present. Shereice Vickery. >> Teresa Smith, >> present. Do I also need to call for our board leaison? >> No, you don't for attendance. No. >> Okay, great. That concludes the attendance. >> Thank you. With the quorum present, the disability issues advisory board meeting will come to order. Item 3.0, adoption of the agenda. If there are no objections, the advisory board shall adopt shall adopt the February 17th, 2026 meeting agenda. There being no objections, the February 17, 2026 meeting agenda is adopted. Item 4.0, approval of minutes. If there are no corrections, the advisory board shall approve the January 21st, 2026 meeting minutes as distributed. There being no corrections, the January
00421st, 2026 meeting minutes are approved. Item 5.0 report of the chair. I have just a few legislative items that I wanted to highlight this evening. Let me let me get to them here on my document. >> See more pictures for them. >> All right, guys. So, I want to highlight um I think there's five specific bills that's currently moving through the Maryland General Assembly that could fundamentally change the landscape for our children and families here in PGCPS. The first one is House Bill 9001 that would require schools to recognize an outside diagnosis and star supports within 30 days for students who have been diagnosed with autism. >> House Bill 1368. This mandates that if a service is missed, the school must notify the parent within three business days with a plan to make up the
005services. >> Senate Bill 863. This is specific to our county and it will require quarterly data reporting on IEP delivery and staff and vacancies as well as a third party audit. And then the last those three were specific on the educational side and then these next two are specific to mental health. The first one is Senate Bill 549 and that one is dealing with uh well let me just read it as written here. Um Senate Bill 549 and 550 >> and that is dealing with um individuals with mental health and they're trying and their families are trying to navigate their health crisis. It will ensure that their support systems such as their parents or advocates can be in the room and are not locked out during an emergency. >> That bill is dealing with healing,
006equity, and representation. >> All right, >> we will move on to item 6.0, presentations. The first item here was um put on the agenda by Shereice, but she's not here this evening. It's dealing with virtual learning plans and visual accommodations. I am going to assume that she just was interested in learning about what the plan will be for students who may need additional support should we or should there be the case that we need to switch to a virtual platform. So, Miss Bowman, if I could um ping you here, is there any information that you could share with families in this regard? >> Yes. What I would encourage um families to do, there is a virtual plan that is on the PGCPS website that does include language about students with disabilities. So it is on
007our website around our virtual education day plan that was approved by our board of education. Um at our previous uh board meeting uh we had an emergency meeting around virtual um our virtual plan and that was approved. It does address um various roles and responsibilities of staff members as it relates to the plan from general educators to special educators to instructional staff, central office staff, special educators at the elementary and secondary level as well as our support staff related services etc. It does talk about the um instructional program. There are sections related to our infants and toddlers program and kind of what the overview of what that looks like as well as our preschool special education program is highlighted as well as our elementary uh school level model and our secondary and middle school levels.
008It does talk about um you know accommodations and instruction being provided to students with disabilities. The other thing I think is important for our families to know is that within our IEP based on our lessons learned through CO, there was legislation passed around if there's an emergency or prolonged closure. In each section of the IEP, there are sections that discuss um if there's any shifts or changes that we have to make related to IEP goals, related to accommodations, related to supplementary um aids and services. So throughout the IEP, there is language that IEP teams have to look at as part of the annual review process or we have initial IEP that we have to actually address within the context of the IEP that then can be leveraged if we have a prolonged school closure. We
009also provided information around non-public uh students and the virtual plan as well. There's some great question. >> Yep. I can always answer those. >> Am I still connected to the meeting? Miss Johnson, can you confirm that you guys can hear me? Okay. >> I see some heads nodding. All right, Miss Bowman, I did not mean to cut you off. I think something happened with my connection there, but thank you so much for that. >> Are there any questions? >> All right, seeing none. So, we're going to move to item 6.2 ADA data. Mr. Henderson, before I recognize you, um I would like to recognize Miss Patrick. I know that there was a recommendation that this board proposed to the board of education regarding reasonable accommodations and it was the result of some data that Miss
010Patrick was uh that Miss Patrick obtained and analyzed. So to give a little context to the recommendation, I would I would like to allow Miss Patrick to have the floor to provide um some of the background information. Sure. Thank Thank you, Chair Smith. Um, quick summary. On January 21st, 2025, I submitted a Maryland Public Information Act request to the Office of General Counsel for PGCPS seeking the most recent annual report submitted by the Equity Assurance Officer to the Chief Executive Officer as required under administrative procedure 4172. Specifically, I requested information on the number of employee accommodation requests, including approvals and denials for the calendar years 2023 and 2024. I also requested the associated cost of those accommodations as is supposed to be in that report and details of training programs related to ADA compliance and
011accommodations. And lastly, timelines for completion of the activities outlined in the required report under administrative procedure 4172. On February 13, 2025, I received a written response on official letterhead from Sally Robinson in the office of general counsel. And that response stated that according to PGCPS staff, neither the chief executive officer nor the superintendent requested an annual report from an equity assurance officer during the time frame identified in my request, 2023 or 2024. And as a result, no responsive records exist regarding the cost of accommodations. However, in lie of the requested annual report, PGCPS staff provided a list of trainings that staff received related to ADA. They also provided a case list, a case list associated with administrative procedure covering ADA accommodation request for the calendar years 2023 and 2024. Personal identifying information of course was
012removed from this case list, but it did include the number of accommodation requests, the status of each request, whether it was open or closed, the date of any determination letter that was issued as well. And so according to the records provided, that case list reflects 271 accommodation requests that were submitted between January 3rd, 2023 and November 26, 2024. A review of that case list also revealed a dominant pattern of extended delays between the date of accommodation requests that when they were submitted and the issuance of determination letters. The delays often ranged from two to six months and in some instances were approaching or exceeding one year for a response. There were also uh several cases that were marked as closed without any determined letter listed as issued. Uh and so that is what kind of
013led us as a team to analyze that data and make the recommendation to the board. Thank you, Miss Patrick. So, Mr. Henderson, I would now like to turn the floor over to you. Um, I understand that you may have some information that you would like to share with us in regards to the ADA data. >> So, thank you very much everybody. Good, good evening. Uh my name is Darnell Henderson. I am the general counsel uh for Prince George's County Public Schools. Um so I submitted a report in response to the questions that were raised. Um and I do apologize because I just literally sent it over about 20 minutes ago or so and I sent it to Miss Bowman and to Miss and board member Olivo. So, I'm not sure if it's made its way
014around, but what I tried to do is respond to I think it was five questions that were brought to my attention based on the January uh 2025 meeting where uh requests for accommodations came up. Um, and before I sort of get started to talk about um, Miss Patrick's uh, presentation of the the numbers from the um, MPIA request, I want to make sure that the general audience um, of parents, families, advocates, and whatnot understand that the the accommodations that we are talking about are for staff only and does not apply to students. um the the process to provide accommodations whether that's under uh section 504 or under the um individuals with disabilities act is a separate uh process that either runs through uh Miss Bowman's uh organization or department or through uh the four or
015504 would run through um Dr. Faison's department. And so I just want to make sure that we are all clear that we are talking about uh staff members here as it relates to the ADA accommodations. So just a little bit of background to provide a little context to the information that was provided by Miss Patrick. Um I have been the general counsel with Prince George's I've been privileged enough to be the general counsel uh with Prince George's County Public Schools since um May I'm sorry since May of of 2023. And so prior to my tenure, uh the general counsel's office, um I I should say prior to my tenure, I think it was like 2000 2021, uh up until about 2021, there was one person uh who was in charge of approving, reviewing uh ADA
016accommodations for the district. And so to put that into context, uh, Prince George's County Public Schools is a district of approximately 22,000 employees and one person was in charge of approving all of the accommodations for the entire district. And so in my report that I submitted to board member Olivo and Miss Bowman, um just to put that sort of number into context, Baltimore City Public Schools, which is my former district that I represented for about a decade, um has four staff members uh supporting 11,000 uh staff 11,000 employees. So when you put that into context, the office the e the office of equity assurance has been wholly understaffed uh for a number of years. And so under my tenure, I've tried to do a number of things. One is to incorporate a tracking system so
017that from the moment that cases are received um we are tracking them from when they what you know when the interactive process begins um when we receive the medical documentation. But as I've laid out in my report, there are a number of factors that that um go into whether or not a case can sort of move through a timeline efficiently. And so whether that's difficulties with um getting a hold of supervisors as as is part of the interactive process to talk with them about, you know, whether or not the accommodation that's being requested is going to create an undue hardship for the district. um also you know contacting medical providers um making sure that we are clear about what is being asked of the district to um support that staff member but what I've included
018in the report here as you can see um number five the question that was presented to me uh is what is the current timeline for ADA responses so from August 8th 2025 to January 21st 2026 the average processing time is 28 8.64 days. Um, and so I I I I don't have the um NPIA data that Miss Patrick presented in front of me. Um, but what I will say that there have in fact been delays uh previously um as we've worked to not only um build up the office but staff it with individuals who are qualified and um knowledgeable about the ADA process. um during my tenure uh and one one of the questions that was raised um from the previous uh meeting is um who is currently in the equity assurance office and I
019will tell you there is no one currently in the equity assurance office. Um the office is being um supported by myself as the general counsel um with the support of um ex external partners to process the requests and so since August of 2025 that has been the case. So basically the the school year of the 2025 2026 school year we have been working with external partners to process cases and and what I will say to you is that it has been difficult but we prioritize moving um staff members through this process as quickly and as efficiently as possible because the quicker that we can get staff back you know from being out from sick leave or from whatever illness or disability that they're suffering from back to the classrooms back to supporting our students, the
020better we are as a district. Um, another question that was raised to my attention was um whether or not um Oh, I'm sorry. Before I move on, as it relates to the staffing of the office, um, as as some of you may know, um, I'm working to reorganize the office. Um, as I've stated previously, the office has been wholly understaffed for a number of years. And so what I'm working to do with um the division of human resources and with the division of finance is to reimagine how we are processing um the requests for accommodations. And so we are currently in the process of hiring. We've had uh first round interviews finished last week. Um we had a a excellent number of candidates apply. Um and so at this point we're down to whittling down
021to who will be moving on to the second round of interviews. But part of the reimagining of the office is also thinking about um creating leadership opportunities within the office. Um some of the struggles that have challenges that have been present in the office is that many of the individuals who have been um brought on to support the office um did not necessarily understand what it means to uh support a school district in their ADA compliance and so looking for more senior level individuals to support the office. Um, in that effort, we've created the director of fair practices position, uh, which would be a supervisory position within the office that has not existed before now. And so, we will begin to, um, interview and hopefully staff that position as soon as possible. Um, but what
022I don't know if has been um, widely known um, or discussed with this group, because this is the first time I've had the opportunity to speak to you, is that the equity assurance office will be moving to the division of human resources. And so what you may or may not know is that the office of general counsel is not a natural fit for this office. Um in most jurisdictions in the state of Maryland, the equity assurance office either sits separately within the division um reporting either directly to this chief of staff or directly to um another uh senior leader or it sits within the um division of human resources. So we've been working with the division of uh finance with the division of human resources with the uh Dr. Joseph as a superintendent to um
023reorganize the equity assurance office and and right size it and right place it within the organization. So that that is some of the work that we're doing um as it relates to the organizational changes within the office. Um another question that arose is how are we defining progress? Um that is a very good question. Um when I think about progress I think about where we have come from and where we are moving towards. Um one of the things that Miss Patrick brought up which I also agree is a um challenge that we are working to um working to improve is the processing time. um given the fact that there has been processing delays in the past, what we like I said, what we don't want to do is have staff members who are able to
024work um if they were provided accommodation not being um allowed to work because that their accommodation request hasn't been processed. So what we are doing is working to streamline the process um whether that's uh creating new forms. So for example, one of the things that we've worked on in the office is lactation. Um, one of the challenges that we've had in the past is that parents u mothers who are um lactating or newly have new newly um had had a child um were not able to um have access to the lactation time or location that they need to um for for whatever their their um to express milk and to to make sure that their child is being fed appropriately. And so what we've done internally is create a lactation uh request form that lists
025out times requested um that what the need is specifically um identifying a location within the building making sure that a mother's recent mothers um have access to lactation spaces so we can get them back to work and get them back in front of our students. And so, you know, when I think about progress, I see it in a long-term um idea. You know, we are dealing with the second largest school district in the state. I think we are the 15th largest in the country. And so, change is incremental, but I I really do believe that we are moving the office of equity assurance in the right direction. Um and and closing the processing gap is part of that. Um, in the report that I submitted to board member Olivo and to um, Miss Bowman, um,
026I talked about, uh, some of the things that have been, um, difficult for us as relates to delays with medical documentation, um, having those conversations regarding essential functions with supervisors and then just the processing and logistics of ordering and delivering materials. So, one of the things for example that has been um that we're trying to work to streamline is that if if for example a employee needs a um a certain type of chair or or certain type of um assist of technology to support them within their work, ordering that technology and getting it delivered to their their workplace so that they don't have to come to Sasser and then you know spend time out of their day again spend time away from students. So, making sure that we are are finding ways to meet uh
027staff where they are so that they can receive their assisted technology and get themselves back into the classroom, back supporting our students. Um and so one of the the questions that was raised to us was regarding how um what's our documentation process that we are using to to measure what we are doing. So, one of the things that my predecessor began and and I am trying to um make sure that we are um being thoughtful about how we're using it is that we now have a um a system that we are documenting all all of every request that comes in. We're documenting it. We're making sure that you know whoever it's assigned to that we're following up. But having that that tracking system um has been really helpful for us. Also, we are working with
028training training um for staff, training for administrators. Um I've been in contact with Dr. Carlettro, the chief of schools to offer up Title 9 training, which is a little different from the topic that we're talking about here, but the Title 9 work also comes out of the equity assurance office. So again, I understand that the office has had challenges before and has been seen in a poor light previously, but my goal, my hope is is to move the office to a better place that we are not only um not having the challenges that Miss Patrick brought up. Um but that we are moving past uh the the those challenges and really servicing the community and um to that to that extent our students. Does anybody have any questions? >> Thank you, Mr. H. There's There's
029a delay. Um, I see Miss Patrick. >> Thank you, Mr. Henderson. I just have one question with the new restructuring. Um, I'm thinking about what administrative procedure 4172 says about um, you know, this annual report that is supposed to be submitted to the CEO. Is that going to happen this year for 2025 for 2026? If not, who will be responsible for fulfilling that requirement in the administrative procedure to to give the CEO this annual report with all of these details? >> That should be um the goal is that it it will be this it will be submitted this year. So, I' I'd imagine I don't know, this is maybe something to flag for board member Alivo. I don't know who actually creates the administrative procedures, but I'd imagine the title of that person might need
030to be edited if it's going to be different from what it says in the in the administrative procedure. Right now, it's supposed to be the equity assurance officer to the CEO. And and to sort of bring that back, that's actually a good point. If you don't mind if I could just speak on it for a very brief second. Um we are also working to uh update AP 4172. There are some of the processes that are in there that are not working and that as we sort of have began to process this work and and see how it's where the snags and the the difficulties and the challenges arise, we are working to um update that procedure. So one of the things for example is that it requires annual um approval every year for your a
031for your um uh uh accommodation. So for example if I am permanently deaf why am I having to um reapply every year? My deafness is permanent. And so we we are trying to find ways to not burden staff. And so that is one of the things that we are we are looking into um is for individuals who have permanent disabilities, not having them have to um reapply every year, but if they want something different or if whatever whatever they've been provided isn't working, then we can have another uh interactive conversation, but not having them to have to go through the whole process of the forms. Also, I'm sorry. I'm I'm excited. One of the other things that we're working on is to streamline the forms. the AP4172 forms, I don't know if you've ever anybody's
032had a chance to look at them, it's like five or six pages. It is it is very cumbersome. And so, if you have a disability, if you are struggling um to get yourself back up to be able to work again, having to work with your doctor to fill out all this paperwork just to get back to work, um finding ways to streamline that process, that is our goal here. >> Thank you. Are there any other questions? Well, I have a few. I'm sorry, I hear my alcohol. Okay, the first thing this is going to drive me crazy. Okay. The first question that I have um is related to you had mentioned that you guys have moved to prioritizing some of the requests. So I guess my question is what's used to determine priority? It sounds
033like there isn't a first in first out process. So how does one get to jump the queue? Is it, you know, is it a safety? Does safety drive that decision? I'm kind of curious in that regard. >> And so, >> I I'll let you respond. >> Thank you. Because safety does pro um inform our decision. So, for example, when you are dealing with a pregnant person and you know that they are are high- risk, putting them behind the line just because they came in in October doesn't make a lot of sense because there may be a hundred people in front of her. And so ma moving her ahead so that we can get her processed not only for her safety but the child's safety. So safety is one of those things that we consider when
034we think about moving folks um who may have have applied later but in front of others who have applied before them. >> Then my next question um is related around data. I'm so glad to hear that you guys have a tracking mechanism in place now. I'm just curious because you guys have that in place. How are you guys measuring effectiveness? Like are there any have you guys determined what this data is going to look like? And then will any of that information um be posted on these public dashboards? >> And so I I don't know the answer regarding the public dashboards because I haven't had that conversation with the superintendent. Um but what we are doing with the data is trying to make is trying to make the office function better. Um I think it
035I'm all about making datadriven decisions. So it's hard to sort of um steer the ship of the equity assurance office if you if we don't have solid data on how we are doing so that we can sort of put a pin in where we are and look forward to where we're going. And so the da d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d da is really used in a in a sense of you know for example with staffing questions you know finding what what the appropriate staffing level is for that office is hard to do if you don't have the appropriate data to figure
036out how many 4172s you have how many 4185s that deal with workplace bullying how many 4176s that deal with um uh staff mediations um how many 4170s that deal with uh discrimination and harassment. If we don't have those numbers, it's hard to figure out, you know, maybe two staff members, maybe three, maybe we need to increase it to four like they have in Baltimore City, just figuring out what what that level is. Also, keeping in mind costs. As we all know, we are going through um some financial challenges. So, what we don't want to do is spend money in ways that are not effective. So, if we're going to spend money in the equity assurance office, making sure that it's targeted and and meeting our goals. And then this will be the last question from
037me. You mentioned that the equity assurance office is moving to HR and that that structure is not typical. I was just kind of curious what what's driving that decision? Is it is it does it have anything to do with sharing resources? I'm just I'm I'm thinking about it from an effectiveness standpoint again because of the findings from um Britney's um report. And so I I want to be clear, it the fact that it's sit sitting in the office of general counsel is the anomaly. We we are the anomaly. It it really shouldn't be here. It's not a legal services function. None of the individuals who are um equity assurance administrators, whether that's the the new fair practices director or any of the other staff members in that office are licensed attorneys. And so when you
038think about the office of general counsel, we've got the legal services side that deals with uh special education law, um policy, litigation, employment disputes. There's a whole section of my division that deals with those areas. And then we put a wall in and then there's the equity side. And and like I said, the only two offices where it it sit currently sits in the office of general counsel is Prince George's County Public Schools and City Schools. it it is not a natural fit. And and there's a whole backstory how it got to city schools that I won't get into now, but it deals with my predecessor who was a former general counsel in um Baltimore City public schools. And so because of her expertise, that superintendent at the time moved it under her, but it
039wasn't under her previously. So it there there there is um some backstory to it, but the whole the point is is to put the equity assurance office in a place that makes more sense. So for example, we have a case now where a a teacher needs a um a parking space that's closer to the the front door because of her disability. But the Austin general counsel has no control over parking spaces. That's that's HR dealing with the principal. That's operations dealing with the building admin. Like it doesn't fit here. And so all the things that that that employees need to support them with their requests are coming from different divisions, different areas. And so making sure that the the places that have the resources to move the supports to that employee are are are um
040part of that that um organization. So that is what where that some of that thought is regarding moving them the office to HR. >> Okay, great. Thank you for that. Are there any other questions? >> Seeing none. Well, Mr. Henderson, thank you so much for attending this uh meeting this evening. >> You're um I'm looking forward to reading uh the report. So sorry my >> and you know what and I'm very and Miss Patrick um we have never met each other. >> Um thank you because I always wonder like when we put things out is anybody actually reading it or reviewing it? So, thank you for your interest and please keep keep our feet to the fire because I will tell you um this is important work and we are we are doing our best
041through supporting teachers to support our students. And so, um if there are any concerns, please have me back. It's nice to meet all of you. Um and and have a good evening. Thank you so much for your time. >> Great. Thank you. So we're going to move on to item 6.3. This item was also submitted to the agenda by shares. It's related to the support for the deaf and heart of hearing. If my memory serves me correctly from the last meeting, it sounds like she had attended a public meeting and there was a parent who raised a concern about um this student population not falling under ESOL and she wanted to get some clarity in that regard. I did a little research and Trenel, I think I'm going to be pinging you for this one
042as well, just from like a um I don't know if it's from a policy perspective or not, but let me pull up what I was um reviewing. So, so with the the little research that I did, it appears that when you have deaf and heart of hearing students, they are classified as um students with disabilities and for that reason that is why they are not under ESOL. Um what was the other thing that I found? Oh, okay. I also noticed that there are instances where there's a dual identification where a student could be listed as special education but also ESOL. So maybe Trenel, could you educate us in this regard um on how the district handle this this specific student population? >> Yes. So you could be I mean just like any disability category. So
043being deaf or deafness or deaf and heart of hearing is a disability category under IDA. And you could also be a student where um well you also could be a student that ASL may not be your first language even though you are deaf or heart of hearing. So, I know that's a double-edged sword for some people because you could um be classified as a multilingual learner and you could be classified as a student with a disability. Um, so one of the things that I will say when we think about students who are deaf and heart of hearing, we think about the the distinction that multilingual learners require instructional supports to acquire English as an additional language while our death and heart of hearing students really need specialized services to ensure equitable access to language and
044communication. So if we think about it, when we think about our dev students, they're really getting supports around their communication access, not English exposure, because in our deaf and hearty hearing community, American Sign Language is actually a language. And so we really are looking at are we able to give them access and communication access, not necessarily English exposure. And so if we think about death students, sometimes they may have delays in English acquisition. They're often reflected as language access gaps, not second language learning. So if we labeled a student who is deaf as a multilingual learner alone, it can mask the language depriv deprivation issues that we constantly work on with our student population. So I know that's a lot to to shack. Um, but that's how we look at, you know, students. And again,
045we're looking at the classification or the category under IDA. If a student is death and heart of hearing, do they meet that particular threshold for that particular category of disability? Whereas multilingual learners is about the acquisition of acquiring the English language, not necessarily acquiring communication access needs. So when you're thinking about death and heart of hearing, you have to kind of think about it around the access to communication to be able to, you know, communicate to others and for others to be able to communicate to you. Whereas multilingual learners, if you are classified as a multilingual learner, that means you have not acquired or you at a, you know, you may be a level one, level two, but there has been a determination made that you do not fully have the full acquisition of the
046English language. Therefore, you need English language development support to learn English whereas dev students again is around their communication access needs. >> Thank you, Miss Bowman. That is very very helpful. So, hopefully that addresses the concern that may have been raised at that meeting in and ideally if it doesn't um we may follow up with you. >> Yeah. Are >> are there any questions from anyone else? All right. So, we moving right along in this meeting. Our next agenda item is new business. Are there any additional topics anyone would like to bring forward for discussion? Mr. Dwire. >> Hello. So, just real quickly, this is just a um just a I guess a not necessarily a point of order, but I did arrive 30 minutes late. Miss Tia Johnson, I am here. My apologies for
047being late. So, I just wanted to state for the record that Chris Dwire is present, albeit 30 minutes late. My apologies to the group. Sounds like you guys are off to a wonderful start, but I am here. >> Mr. Dwire, we always appreciate your presence. Thank you for acknowledging that, Miss Patrick. >> Sheriff Smith, would this be an appropriate time to share a resource with the group um an event that's happening? >> Absolutely. >> Awesome. Um so, District 7 team, Dr. Moss um as well as myself um Councilwoman Crystal Orietta have come together to host a supporting students with autism symposium this Saturday, February 21st. It'll be held from 900 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Andrew Jackson Middle School. That's in District Heights. We will of course have a keynote as well as a parent
048and caretaker panel along with an interactive resource fair and live demon demonstrations. Again, that is a supporting students with autism symposium uh February 21st, which is Saturday from 9 to 12 at Andrew Jackson Middle School. Thank you, >> Miss Patrick. Thank you so much for bringing that to our attention. And then just for the record, I'm so glad that you raised this because there was an item that came to me from the community. They thought that this was a DAB event because they saw Diab behind your name and I'm like, this is not a DAB event. But I am very glad that this event is being held and I do hope that families go out and obtain whatever information may be presented. So, thank you, >> Miss Payne. >> Yes. I just wanted to ask,
049Miss Patrick, do you have a flyer or anything related? I'd like to post it on the CCAC website. >> I do have a flyer. I'm not sure the most appropriate way to get it out to everyone. Um, Chair Smith, can I send it directly to folks? Is that okay? So, Miss Pay, I don't want to speak for you, but Miss Patrick, if you send it to me or you can you have Miss Payne's email, you can send it directly to her and then she has a list serve that she can get it out to folks. Um, great. Utilizing that list serve. >> Great. I'll get it to you tonight, Miss Payne. >> Thank you, >> Miss Catrell. >> Yeah, that was going to be my same question. like could that be something that could be
050shared with me and are we able to share it with our like our my like my school community the community that my kids go the school my kids go to like just cuz I'm so in tune with PTO um just because I don't think people know that it's happening and just you know to be the steward of sharing the information >> for sure I will absolutely also send it um to to Miss Smith and Miss Smith if you could send it out to the group as well that would be really helpful And thank you for sharing. Please do share. It's not restricted to just district 7 folks like anyone come please. Are there any other questions? I mean questions are is there any other new new business? All right. I have just one item and
051actually I should have said this in my opening but Mr. Dwire, you just made me remember. Um, today I was informed that Miss Burn, who was a member of DAB, has resigned. She represented district three due to scheduling conflicts and um, another commitment that she had that is her reason for resigning. So, I just want to publicly thank her for her commitment to this work. She was very instrumental with the work we did on the within the policy subcommittee. Um, and I know that special education and things with people with disabilities is a item of her heart. So, I encouraged her to stay connected to the work that this board is doing. So, you guys may see her name come around again. Um, but she did resign and I wanted to let you all know.
052With that said, this is the last call for any other new business items. All right, hearing none. Oh, sorry, my children and their devices. Okay, I can't even get it off. I'm sorry, guys, for the background noise. So, the chair would like to inform the public that the next meeting of the disability issues advisory board is scheduled for March 17, 2026. Please continue to visit the Prince George's County Board of Education website for meeting details and any updates. Thank you all for your valuable contributions this evening. To our viewers, we appreciate you tuning in and we thank you for your continued support. There being no further business, the time now is 6:55 and the February 17, 2026 meeting of the Disability Issues Advisory Board is hereby adjourned. Have a good evening everyone.