001there was some, um, some concerns raised within the community specifically to IDEA. there may be overlap, just as well with. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. So, I think it warrants an in-depth discussion versus. as, you know, having a SNAP discussion here this evening, so I did just want to preface it by saying that the subcommittee. um, considered all of the statutes. That's… that's super… that's super helpful, Ms. Teresa, in that… One, I'll tell you personally, I highlighted everything… after IDEA and 504, and said all of these other statues make sense to be here. Just so you know, like, electronic and information technology, the 508 one. the physical accessibility, hiring. Hiring is already in your committee charge, um, but it's around Title I, ADA 503, um, seclusion and restraint. I get it, um, it's a…
002it moves over into IDA, so I literally had in green, all of this should be here, but in red, I had IDEA just giving you my thought process. Um, but… If you're not willing to do that today, I would encourage you all not to ask you to do another document. Because I can pick up the phone and call Brittany. She represents District 7 and lives 2 blocks from me. So I can't call her and hear her rationale. But I think… the committee and, you know, Board Member Olivo, Board Member Brown, because this is such a substantive change, I do think it would benefit. the full committee for us to get more information around why you all want this. Um, as part of your work, and your initial rationale is perfect, Mr. Risa, um, but… I
003see a bunch of hands coming up, so I'll stop talking. Okay, um, I'm gonna recognize the other hands, but Mr. Moss, I do want to come back. Um, after we wrap up this round here, um, because I have some feedback. Um, as it relates to some of the comments that was made in your presentation. Ms. Doyle. Chair, Chair, um, Chair Smith, I'm sorry. Ms. Welsh had her hand up first, but I see she removed it, so… I'm not sure if she wants to pause and come back. I'm sorry, I never took it down, I think, so I'm sorry. You're on mute. Might as well, sure. Hi, thank you. Um, Dr. Moss, thanks for the explanation, and um… I heard you say that this change was… interesting to you, because it, you know, it seemed beyond
004our scope, but then it's indicative that maybe something isn't working, right? And I think we are all… almost all of us here are here because special education is not working in Prince George's County. Um, most of us are parents of children with disabilities. Many staff members who work with disabled students, um, so I'm not trying to, like, be… you know, snippier, or… sarcastic, but, like, we're here because… It's… it's bad out there. Um, I… I'm, like, the one person in this county who's happy with their… One of their kids' special education services. Um… I know people who have moved out of county because. the services, because special education is in such poor shape here, and, you know, we're under, um… observation from the state. So, um, again, not trying to be… not trying to be
005sarcastic to you, but… We're here because things aren't working well, and, um, we're hoping to… do our piece to improve things. Thank you for that, Ms. Doyle. I would like to echo, um, Chair Smith's statement around. the lack of information that was, um, housed. for DAB prior to… Um, that's all coming aboard. Um, there just seemed to be… just… there was no documents. There was nothing anywhere, and, like, nothing. Um, and so to ask us to bring forth recommendations. And yet, the one, the policy itself is, like, 3 lines long. been too… to say… Bring forth recommendations, but not consider all of these things, when all of these things literally touch each other. for very colloquial saying, it was diabolical and insane. Did you know that? Um, so… Um, I can't speak for an entire
006advisory board, but I can speak for myself in saying that we needed to have those additional. um, things viewed is important, because literally every single thing touches each other. And… and without… considering that you're just standing up another advisory board to do the same thing that. whatever the previous one did, because there is… no record of what was done. Um, and so we want to make sure. that we build a great record, and stuff that the board and the administrative staff can work from. Um, and if you guys are not going to consider all of those things, then… it's pointless. You're not going to be able to actually make effective change. Thank you, Ms. Vickery. Hey there. Um… And I know, uh… My face feels like a caption on it. I'm doing my best. But,
007um… We're just… beyond exasperated, and I respect that everybody here has another… job to do, but, um, as has been said, you're also talking about. Families who have students within PGCPS in special education, and. the rate at which this committee seems to be moving is just, uh… molasses is just the word that's coming to mind, but… Um, and… So, uh, Dr. Moss, I appreciate. The inquiry today into, you know, why is IDEA in there, and 504, and, you know, versus just the ADA. totally appreciate that inquiry. However, we've been asking about that since last September. Um, and we've been coming to these meetings, and there have been representatives from the board, including yourself. When we've asked these, and we've honestly… it feels like we've just been… tabled, um… And so it's coming to the point
008for many of us where we're like, is this… Why was this board convened in the first place? Um, and should we continue… doing this when we seem to be chasing our tails. Um, and being an attorney. Having worked in the United States legislature, I'm very familiar with regulations versus policy, etc. had that guidance been a part of our conversation? September, October, November, December. January. That would have been really helpful. I welcome that. I welcome more of that. moving forward, I would like to stay, and I would like for this. For Diab to be as robust and helpful to. The PGCPS Board of Education as possible. How much better does it get? You've got folks with kids actually in the system. Like… But, um… you know, the kind of… The notion that we need to be
009patient when there are questions. that on our end seem very basic. What is the purpose of this committee? Uh, what happens when the… with the recommendations? Um. I just hope you see where… I, at least personally, am coming from. Thank you, Ms. Byrne. Ms. Taram Myers, if you just give me one second, and Dr. Moss, because I think this is a good segue for me. I feel that we are hyper-focused. on the recommendations, the recommendations for… Board Policy 1700 versus the entire recommendations report. that also include things that do not touch Board Policy 1700. And Dr. Moss, I'mma just have to be frank with you. The chairs, as well as Ms. Olivio, had a meeting with the administration, the current administration, and they were not even aware. of the recommendations report, and this was well
010after August. So this particular board has done a lot of work. And to Sarah's point. We are feeling like our work is laying dormant. So I do… I think we all understand that there is a process in place to make changes. to a policy. We get that. But, when it comes to a recommendations report that we were required. to provide to the Board of Education. It's not fair to us that we are serving this district, and we're not getting any feedback from that. So it would be helpful. If we… and at a minimum, we get some responses to the recommendation… to the. So the recommendations report in general. I understand if your response is for the recommendations related to the policy itself, is that we go through the policy process, that's a response. But for
011all of the other recommendations to just sit there and we don't have nothing, and now it's… almost the end of October is concerning. So I wanted to pause and say that. And then let me just recognize, uh, Ms. Terran Myers and then Dr. Moss. be quick. Um, and what… and what we are hearing is that the passion that we all have. Right, because we all have children. Um, that are in this school system. And we see the failures. We also recognize that it's bigger than just the kids. Some of the educators also need our support, and we're, you know, aligning ourselves with that. And two, what Ms. Bickery stated. This board was dormant for a while. And now it's coming back. In times have changed. This particular session of people are trying to lay the
012foundation for what we look like going forward, so we're not so constrained. as things change and evolve. Right? I understand CCAC and their legislative need and how they are listed. But we're still having a significant problem. in this school system. who's really not underfunded. I mean, that's one of the things they don't like to talk about, that they're short-staffed. there are schools in this county that are fully staffed, and we're still seeing the same systemic issues. So, we want our policy to allow us to advise. the school board on the systemic issues and a path forward. on how we make that change. And since there is no documentation about what happened the last time, we're going to create that documentation, but we need to start from a place where we have some sort of power.
013to make that change. So, I understand, like, you know, Ms. Smith said. the policy, the procedures, all that good stuff. But even before we ask the question. our school board should be asking the question about what was this board's purpose? And why did it lay dormant? And now that we're all here. help us to transition it so that it is effective. And it's meaningful, and people are taking the time out to do this. Right? We all have jobs, except I'm furlough, so I got more time right now. But we all have jobs to do. And so this is… this is our time. to try to help. our school system, which we now know really needs help. That's all I'm gonna say. Ms. Teresa, is it okay for me to respond? Oh. Could we take Mr.
014Oil real quick, and then… then allow you to respond? I'm sorry. No, that's no problem. Thanks. Um, I would just… just to, like, put an end cap on all of this a bit, it sometimes feels like. This board was convened to, like. feel good, make the board look good, make it… but, like, no one actually wanted us to do anything. And… again, most of us are parents of kids with extra needs, and I don't… like, we don't have that kind of time. Um, so just… Really appreciate your response, and again, a lot of this information would have been so useful months ago. Ms. Vickery, do you mind if I allow Mr. Moss to go? Yeah, so… now, Mr. Teresa, you know I don't care, you're good. All right, thanks. Dr. Moss. Uh… um, so let
015me say this. One, I appreciate the feedback tonight. It's super helpful in our work, um, and we only get better as a board when we have feedback. But I want to put two things in perspective, uh, for you all. Not that I'm excuse-making. But the board members that you have on this call started in January. Technically. Uh, and were appointed. And Amy started in 3 days ago, almost. It probably feels like 4 years, but… Um, I became chair of policy and governance in January, and I was at a gas station. and was in trouble, because I hadn't returned Ms. Therese's call, which is why I ended up coming to the meeting. in March, when I came. Um, and it was Robin Brown who had me to come to the meeting, and at that meeting, I
016explained to you all. how to get policy change to happen. I think I was at another meeting or something, so I've only been here once, so I'm not making excuses, and I share with you all how to get policy change to happen. And 3 months later, we made it happen. So I get your frustration, and we take ownership for the board that was before us. I totally get it. If they weren't responsive, you all are talking about September, October, November. I was running for office during that time. Uh, Robin was too, and Amy had no clue she would be on the board. At that time, so I'm not making an excuse in that regard. Secondarily, the meeting that you all had this year was with a completely different administration. And that was with, um, I
017believe you had a meeting with Dr. Collins and Superintendent Joseph, who wouldn't have had… wouldn't have had any awareness around any recommendations that you all have made. Now, let me own this. We as a board should have sent you all a memo and said, we received your recommendations. We will take time to review them. That is on us. We should have done that. I took your recommendations and put it into action and did not follow up with you, and you learned about it today. So I can own the fact that perhaps, and we've got Cindy on the phone now. Cindy. We should just make a conscious effort that when we get these recommendations report, we lay out the process for you all. I think the board could have done a better job on that. I
018will name, as the chair of policy and governance so long I'm here, I'm happy to take, you know, walk with you all on this journey. to get this done. Um, but let me say something that's not going to be kind. And since I've been so honest with you all tonight, I hope you all will give me permission to be unkind for a moment. And it's not even my own unkindness. Um, but Brene Brown says, to be clear is to be kind, to be unclear is to be unkind. When Diab was started, I did my research. The intent was for you all to make sure school buildings were compliant with ADA. Nothing more, nothing less. Over time, this committee has been dormant. And didn't even take on that charge. And so, it was not until we
019got people who cared about this… and I'm not… let me say that carefully. When even that the other folks didn't care about it. But there's a level of passion. Because you all feel this, and you're just workers. I mean, you literally want to see the system change. And so, you onboarded. a whole group of new board members who still have questions themselves about what does it mean for this group. I'm just being real with you all. And I had to do research to figure out why this was started. There is no manual to say why, you know. 15 years ago, they put together this committee. So, let's be honest on the forefront of what I've learned. And what we're working through. This committee. was started to ensure buildings were ADA compliant. That was the sole
020purpose when the board came up with this committee. Nothing more, nothing less. Since then. This state has required us to have a hyper-focus on students with disabilities, and CCAT came about as law. And so they are responsible. for many of the tasks that you all are asking us, um, to do. But I just wanted to be honest with you all, and I'm sure someone else has said that to you, but my research… And so, that's what I came up with. In summary, we weren't here. the administration wasn't here. I came and told you all what a process needs to look like. Number three, we should have responded and sent you a memo. That's just good business. we weren't good on that part and said, we should have sent you a memo and said, we're prioritizing
021it, we're making it a policy. I did the work, I just didn't communicate doing the work. And I can own that and do better the next time. But we're not at odds on moving this work forward. I have the same concerns that you all have. My first item as a board member was an audit of special education, and they asked me to pull it back. So, you should know that we're not misaligned in our quest for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. I hope I answered your question and didn't sound like I was an excuse-making, but I'm gonna always give it to you 10,000. But, Ms. Teresa called me back in March. Because I hadn't returned her phone call, and was like, you need to be at this meeting so we can get clear about
022this, in her nice way. And so, then we came and figured out how to do this. Um, but that's just what I want to lay out. Thank you, Dr. Moss. Ms. Vickery? I'm sorry, I have been a party to one of those nice-way email, uh, phone calls. It's… I should give you credit for your phone calls to me, too, so… Oh. But, boom. I would say, um… Thank you for at least giving us some history. I don't think we've ever had that. I will… Um, aside from Diab, I would… I would, um… implore you and encourage your team. to look at some of those, um, ADA policies you guys are pointing towards. Um, policies that don't exist anymore, and Comar. in PGCPS, you have lines that say, we'll follow up. TG County rule that says
023blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, and Peachy County rule does not exist anymore. has not existed in 10 years. Um, you have several of those, um, so it's good to know that, it's good to know that we're not misaligned. Um, but it would be great if we could also, um, get some of our questions answered. Um, some of our subcommittees have not been able to move forward on work. Because we have outstanding questions that we've put to the board and to the administrative staff that we have not followed… we've not gotten forward. And again, if our charge is to make these recommendations, make these. reports, we can't go forward if we don't have the data. Um, and a lot of the times we're being told, oh, you're gonna get it, you're gonna get it,
024and then nothing happens. Thank you, Ms. Vickery. Ms. Doyle? Thank you, Dr. Moss, for that history, because I had no idea that that's why this was convened, and honestly, I was just trying to look in my… Google Docs, but I'm 90% full, and uh… had to do some cleaning, so I can't find it, but um… the answers that I gave when I applied for this board… And it was pretty extensive about, like, you know, talking about my experience, about, you know. having disabilities in the PGCPS school system, and how was I, as a collaborator, and it looked nothing like. what you just described. So, um, I think there's, like, a fundamental mismatch. going on here, um… That… so that is… that is very interesting, and I… Um, I think we need to be making sure
025that people are getting to do, kind of, what they signed up to do. Right? Um… I had something else, and it's gone, but that's… that's what I got for now. Thank you. Thanks, Ms. Doyle, and I think a lot of us echo what you just stated there as well. Yes, thank you so much, and, you know, thank you so much. It's… you… what I can say is it's… folks like you all, constituents. state, because you guys are legitimate stakeholders. in the work that we do. And so, without your input, nothing is going… nothing can change, because we wouldn't know. Um, and so, I want to make sure, um, that we don't think it's in vain. Because we're talking in January, and we don't hear anything till now. I, myself, and I know Amy for sure,
026and Ari, we're still working in the background to make sure things. are not forgotten. And so, one of the commitments as a board member that I made to myself was because. of everything going on with special education. from the last business meeting, I specifically asked about recruiting and retention. when it came to HR, and what that looks like for our special education. And so. That… going into our meetings, I'm making sure, you know what, I'm gonna make sure I ask something about special education. that was discussed in Diab. So you all don't feel like nothing is being heard, nobody's hearing what is… what we're saying, no. what you all are bringing to me, I'm still bringing out on a consistent basis, and so please know that. Even if it's not heard on a big stage,
027or wherever you think it's… It's being heard. Um, no one is neglecting this topic. I also wanted to bring up, I know. Um, someone had brought up. the investigation, I think that's something that's more so Trannell's office. She can probably give a little bit more. context for that, that's context we need as board members. Obviously, we would love to have access to that whenever the information is given, but I want to make sure we know. who would be the subject matter experts when it comes to dealing with these specific issues? Thanks, Board Member Brown. Ms. Taran Myers. So… Um, and I, too, appreciate the information from Dr. Moss. But, you know, based on what you're telling us. Um, we are sort of in a holding pattern, right? People have invested a lot of time. Um,
028and trying to update, you know, Board 1700 policy. And that hasn't changed yet. And so our… technically, our main date is to. make sure school buildings that. that are… that they are ADA compliant. That's the only thing that we can really. do and change right now. But the broader scope. That we're trying to, uh, involve ourselves in. We technically don't have the ability to do that. And so, I guess my question is… when will we have that feedback? that tells us if our policy is going to be. changed so that we can continue to move forward. Because, like many of us, we joined this board because we know that change had to happen, we needed it to happen. And it wasn't happening. Um, and it's not just our thoughts about it, right? The report that
029was mentioned. was about PGCF… PGCPS failure. to support children. Uh, with individualized education plans. In a way that's effective. Um, so… I need clarity on what are we at this moment, and how long do we have to stay. just making sure school buildings are compliant with ADA. Before we can move on, like, what's that time frame? Ms. Terran Myers, if I may, the way board policy 1700 is currently written. We have an additional charge, and it's related to employment and hiring. So, as it relates to, like, one of our recommendations is dealing with, um. the accommodation review process. Um, so I don't think that has left. our authority, per se. Um, so two things. The facilities, new facilities. New construction and facilities. As well as… well, new construction and accessibility. of building and facilities, and
030then employment and hiring. So… I don't know if this question is for Board Member Moss, or if it's actually for… Board Member Brown. Do you have any immediate comment? to how we move forward, because I know Ms. Byrne brought this up. And our last meeting, and I think I had mentioned we can consider some of the legislative things. Um, that's on the table right now for the district, but… In light of knowing what our scope is. Well, you… how do we… how do we move forward? Can I give a recommendation here? So my recommendation was that, actually, your second scope. Sure. that was added. I can't tell you what year. that that was added, but your second scope, I think, is actually one of the most powerful pieces of this work, and where an opportunity
031exists. Pgcps just underwent. contracting for individuals to support our students with disabilities, um, and we do have some gaps, and I think some of your recommendations. in your report actually addressed some of that, right? Um, you know, those assistants that need to be paired with students. So I think there are a lot of opportunities for you all to lean in, and perhaps on that front, working with, um, you know, Tronelle Bowman and team to ensure that our staffing plan. that is embedded in our corrective action plan from MSDE. is actually one that addresses a lot of concerns. I can tell you, 70% of the concerns that I hear. that are related to students with disabilities are staffing issues at the end of the day. I can drive it back down to not having a certified.
032educator to be able to work with a student who needs a speech and language pathologist, any of that. So in terms of delivering on your committee's charge, I would develop a work plan focused on staffing. Um, until this board policy… until the board decides what it's gonna do on policy. Secondly. I do think there are some opportunities with buildings that are not ADA compliant for our students. There is a tremendous opportunity around that. I know that doesn't align with where you want to go, but I think there are clear opportunities in both of these areas to do this. On the policy front. Realistically, you've got about a year before it is clear around what this committee is going to do. We've got to meet. The committee has to decide. We have to hear from the
033administration around how would it impact us to have two bodies that are focused on the same body of work. Um, I can tell you. Um, that's gonna take some time to do, and so I'm not gonna be unrealistic here. The November 13th meeting? that we have, Robin is gonna bring this. And she's gonna take all the recommendations she's gotten from people, from the district, make a recommendation to the committee. The committee will likely say, uh, I'd like to see this language here, bring it back next month, after you get more information on this. And then that'll be about January, and then it has to go out once we have a version that we can live with, it has to go out for public comments. We will… Y'all will then write all kind of public comments,
034because we may not take all of your feedback. And then we'll have to decide what of your public comments we're gonna… we're gonna take, what are we not gonna take. Um, so I think the third thing you all can do is have advocacy. If you fundamentally believe that the charge of this committee needs to change, they're not… there are 9 to 10 board members who will ultimately make that decision. And so, engaging with us individually, showing where the gaps are, if you think that CCAC is not, you know, living up to its responsibility, or you think that Diab has a better opportunity to do that. There's a tremendous opportunity. I think… If I were you in the next 6 to, you know, in the next 6 months, that's where I would focus my energy in
035those 3 broad areas, to be able to get this done. My final comments on this is your work is far from in vain. Had we never had this conversation, we wouldn't be moving the needle. Had you all not interrogated. the inefficiencies, the inadequacies. we wouldn't be at this conversation. We wouldn't even be revising the policy. We wouldn't even be looking at if CCAC is meeting. the needs of parents and community members. So, um… I don't think that you revived something that was dead. Essentially, and are trying to figure out how to… how to get it moving again. Um… Yeah, I'm sorry if I overspoke, but… those are my most recent comments. Thank you, Dr. Mouse. So, um, it's almost 7.30, so I'm gonna take these last 3 comments, and then we're gonna move on with
036our agenda. Ms. Byrne? Great. And Ms. Teresa, and anybody want to reach out to me one-on-one and talk, I'm happy to do it. I'll give you my cell phone number. Just talk to me one-on-one, or you can get it from Cherise. She's one of my parents who, you know, text me and tell me what to do all the time. So, uh, you all can do the same. Okay, awesome, thank you. Ms. Byrne? Hi there, just sharing what. I recall as some context for the relatively new or January post. Members of this committee, in case it's helpful, um… when all of us received or saw the call, right, to join and, um… apply and submit your qualifications, et cetera, to serve on this committee. Um. we all generally had questions once we were picked, and at
037that first meeting, like, what is… what is the purpose? What is the scope? We see… on this, you know, paper here that. some of this language. But then we were told, well, this group hasn't convened, this recommendation came from 2013, or whatever it was, so kind of… Uh, I remember it was, um… Board Member Adam Stafford, I believe, who kind of initiated the revamping of this. And the spirit was, well, this can be… this is a renewal, and this can be whatever you want it to be, or think it to be. Um, and so we are not just being, like, hard-nosed and, um. wanting to get IDEA in here, or 504, or anything. all that we have been seeking is clarity, and if… if we… and guidance. And if we had had that guidance since
038September, that was actually. that was actually, no, this is only ADA, this is only, uh. about ensuring that the buildings are ADA compliant, and. then… then we would have said, okay. Glad we have clarity on what we were actually called to, and, you know. applied to serve on, because. That… that clarity… there was no clarity. And instead, we were told to kind of make it what it will be. Um, and so that's why you have these questions, that's why you've had so many of us spending hours to try to make it. So again, it's not a matter of disregarding or being hard-nosed, it's a matter of a lack of. guidance and clarity, and I'm thankful that we. appear to be getting it now, and appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Byrne. Ms. Vickery? I
039guess my, um, question is more so for Dr. Moss, so it's not a statement, more so a question. Um, in light of the… in light of the Capitol Buildings projects and things like that, how do you… you knew I was coming here. How do you suggest we move these? recommendations around buildings, things like that. forward, um, I'm thinking about District 8, which I do represent, um. Um, for the public. My children… I have one child that attends District 7, but I'm… publicly represent District 8, um, where I live. Our biggest concern in District 8 is elevators. So how are we doing this when there is a hierarchy on the schools that are chosen to have changes? Ms. Teresa, you want me to respond? Alright, I got you. Um… Yeah, I mean, so I think that,
040one, CIP was a missed opportunity for this group. Had we known this focus, right, we just went through the CIP process, and just sent that before the Council for them to approve. Now. I will tell you, the Council has not signed off on the CIP. Um, and so you do have a bit of an advocacy opportunity around that in places where it's not. But… I… I will… I will be hard-pressed to say… If the district is aware of, you know, like, fundamental ADA issues. And it's not in the CIP, we… we need to know about those immediately, so that they can be addressed. Um, and you need to let board members know, you know. like, tomorrow, because the CIP is not complete. But I would say this committee could go through the CIP that just
041came out, right? The proposal that we have out, look at it and see if it addresses some of the issues or concerns that you all are hyper-aware. That's my first reaction, but it has not been completely approved by the council yet. The CIP belongs to the council, and not to the board. And I recently learned two weeks ago. that the Council can revise the CIP that we sent to them and never bring it back to district. Amy's the expert on this, because she worked on council side before, but… you know, Amy, you may want to jump in here, but there is an opportunity in that way. Amy, do you want to jump in? Yeah, I would just add, um. you know, I think that what… what Felton said is absolutely true. The… the Prince George's
042County Council can absolutely revise the capital improvement program budget. the General Assembly also, you know, we have… as I'm sure you all know, we have. billions of dollars more in needs than funding that we receive from the General Assembly every year. And so pushing these items forward, um, as importance from the General Assembly is… is key as well. Um, I was just looking, I think, coming up on Wednesday, November 4th, is gonna be a… VIP update around some of the current schools that are in process, and I was just trying to find that list, and I just can't find it at this exact second. in my email. Um, but you know, there are… there are regular meetings. I think. you know, making your voice heard, I think, as you all know, you know, the number
043of people who attend and speak at these meetings is relatively small, and so hearing. numerous people speaking out in favor of, you know, ADA issues that we need to handle at our buildings is going to have a pretty big impact. Thank you, Board Member Moss and Board Member Olivio. I will say, just for the record, that. the disability issues Advisory Board did give public comment. for CIP. However. We gave the public comment, but to the point that Ms. Vickery made earlier. We still have concerns with access to data. So, it'll be helpful that when we submit our request. that we get responses, because otherwise. We're thinking about moving forward with the MPIA process. We shouldn't have to do that. Miss Teresa. Miss Teresa, let me help you real quick. Let me help you real quick.
044I know I may be a little out of order here, but if you submit your data request to Board Member Olivo or Board Member Brown. they can literally get the data that you want. So, in the past, you may not have been able to get that data, as long as it's reasonable, your board members can request any data in the system and get it. Um… you know, Miss Vickery, who I'm putting on the spot here, abuses the tracker. Um, she texted me and told me to put something in the tracker so she can get a response, and… So, I don't know, in the past how your liaisons worked. But I know that these two liaisons use the tracker, so I just wanna… flag that you shouldn't have any issues getting. data along, it's data that
045can be given to the public. So, we'll work with our liaisons. I think that we have done a great job doing that, and we'll just figure out if it dropped off somewhere. Uh, but that… I just wanted to make that comment as it relates to providing public comment. So we've… we've done it, and we… We will continue to advocate in whatever, um, forms are out there, um, according to the mission of this particular board. Ms. Doyle? Thanks, sorry, I'm probably too chatty tonight, but, um, Dr. Moss, you said something that was very interesting to me. You said you requested an audit? of special education and… it sounds like somebody told you no, and this might be a sidebar for another conversation, but I… I… You're right, special education is not underfunded in this county, but
046I… cannot help but wonder what kind of waste, fraud, and abuse is going on. Um, I've also said for a long time that. They could simply provide services and reduce the compliance department and the legal budgets. Um, but I… I… I am very interested in… in that comment that you made. Again, it's a bit of a sidebar. maybe not for tonight, maybe I should… email you. No, I can address it for you. It's Audit Committee. So, I… I was very. froggy when I first got here, and I wanted to change the whole world overnight. Uh, and I had an item the first board meeting, and they were like, there's a way to get this done. And just so you know, Rachel, the Board Audit Committee, which is chaired by. Um, Dr. Anderfel has an audit
047plan that includes a special education audit, but we're having to run that in… I'm on that committee. We're having to do it in conjunction with the corrective action plan, so it's a bit of a wonky situation, but… It is in the works. But I was too… to, um, to Froggy when I first got here, and tried to put it on the agenda the first meeting, and that just wasn't the right way to do it. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for that feedback, and maybe to, um, Ms. Doyle, we can talk about it as a group. Um, on how we could advocate in that regard, because when Dr. Moscott. put into his position. That wasn't the first time that. an audit had been talked about, so it may just be something that we need to advocate
048for. And whomever ear, it needs to get to. Yeah. I think it's very necessary. I don't have the numbers offhand, but the… Millions that go to special education, and the number of special education students. there's no reason we should be struggling like this. Absolutely. Well, guys, I think we had robust discussion on this agenda item. I do thank Dr. Moss and Ms. Welsh for being here, but I do ask that you guys don't leave the meeting yet, um, because I do… yes! Because I do have, um… a few items that's under new business that I want to bring up, and it falls under you all's. purview. Um… The next agenda item is related to bylaw 7.3. Ms. Welsh, um, you may have seen in this meeting that questions came up. about, you know, what it
049is that we can and cannot do. And of course, we do rely on the poletarian procedures. But this particular committee does not have bylaws. Um, I have brought this up in the past. I know that there is another. parent-led council that has bylaws. So, my question is, is this an item that we could take up. Um, with generating. So, uh… Peacock does have bylaws, and I believe, I have to pull up that policy very quickly, but I'm pretty sure that policy says within the policy, it says. That PCAC Shell developed their bylaws. And then, if there's ever changes, you have to go back to the board and share… it's a whole thing, so it would be something that if the… if this… if DIAB wants to have bylaws that we could incorporate that into the
050policy. Okay, all right, great. Thank you for that response. Um, are there any questions about this agenda item? All right, hearing none. Now we're moving into new business. Hold on one second, guys. Ms. Johnson, I have a question. Um… We have an item on here related to the members that are listed for the Employment and Hiring Subcommittee. I think that we probably need to get with Ms, um, Ms. Janie about… about this. Before discussing it here. Okay, so she said in, um… an email, because she… isn't able to be present tonight. And I believe she mentioned that she wanted to just get a confirmation of who was actually on. The Employment and Hiring Subcommittee, because she wants to schedule a meeting. With her, with them soon. So she just basically… and she had been here,
051I believe, that she was gonna probably make a motion to ask. Oh, okay. who, um, just a confirmation of who all is actually on the… subcommittee. because of that issue, we thought that there may be. um, a quorum. So she just wanted confirmation before she… sends out communications to schedule a meeting. with the members. Okay, so for the record, Ms. Vickery, do you have… Um, the li-. to send it later tonight. It was… Okay. All right, so we'll send Miss… Ms. Blackwell, if you could just let Ms. Janie know that… We'll send the list of members for the employment and Hiring Subcommittee. Okay, great, thank you. All right. Yes, I would do that. And Chair, it was last discussed, um, on our June 9th meeting. You're welcome. Okay, great. Thank you. All right, so I
052had a couple of items for new business that I would like to, um… just bring to this body for us to think about, I'm not ready to make a motion on any of these items. Um, but I have been attending some of the. public forums. that have e… that have been led by… um… our state senators. As well as our interim superintendent. And I've just been hearing some of the comments that are coming forth. So, the first thing, um, I guess I did want to ask. outside of what I noticed, if other members have been participating, what have been some of your. observations, um, and if some of those items are applicable to the work that we're doing here. Um, one thing, I don't know if the school district has a whistleblower reporting process. Specifically,
053as it relates to special education. And the staff, if there isn't one in place, I'm wondering, is this something that. Um, we could propose that the district considers, um, putting in place. Um, it sounds like there is a concern with autonomy. Um, it appears… In some regard, that there's a misunderstanding on what autonomy looks like for special education. I do know that… there were recommendations made to our past superintendent. Uh… In the past, and I brought this up with our interim superintendent, and it sounded like no changes were going to be made. Currently. But because… this issue of autonomy keeps coming up. I'm wondering, do we need to reconsider? how that looks. Um, another thing that came up is OIG. Um, I heard in one meeting that there probably should be an OIG specifically for
054special education. Uh, because our current one. may only focus on the financial aspect. Um, I did look at the last report that they did, and I think there was, like. Don't… don't quote me on this, but I think there are… there was, like, a handful of complaints related to special education. Um, but I don't know what that… that process looks like as it relates to. things being investigated. So, I heard OIG specifically for special education. Um, and then the last thing is related to board policy 8100. Um… What did I do? I have my email up. This might be specific to you, Dr. Moss and Ms. Welsh. Um, hold on, I had… I had it up. I gotta bring it back up. I am… Concerned about a current recommendation. um… that I see… Um, in
055that… in that particular… was in the public comment phase right now, and it looks like that there was a new section added… oh my god. I don't have the section pointed out, but specifically. It's states that. The recommendation is to have two parent-led advisory bodies. The parent and community advisory council, which is governed by Board Policy 1500. No, my concern is related to the parent-led advisory council, or advisory bodies. So, PCAC as well as DI. Uh, because these councils have long served as vital. Structured channels for parent and community input. I'm concerned about. the proposed language. And what it states is that at least one citizen's advisory committee. And at least one special education issue. Issues Advisory. committed. So, reading that language. is the intent… to replace or restructure the two bodies that currently exist.
056All right, I see you shaking your head, though, as well. No, it's… it's merely acknowledging them. That would speak… that policy is basically saying, this is what we have. We have this advisory committee, and we have this advisory committee. It doesn't… there's no… there's no attempt to change anything in either advisory committee. It's merely saying that… the whole purpose of that policy is sort of to lay out all the different types of committees. That we have. So we have the standing committees, we have the advisory committees, we have the Committee to evaluate the. the superintendent we have, which is now going to be an ad hoc committee, uh, we have, um, task force committees, so it's really sort of laying out committees. It was never to change anything within your… the diab or with, um,
057the PHAC. Okay, great. That's really good to hear. And… but we will be reviewing and revising the parent advisory, the PCAC, um… And the superintendent has… wants to propose a whole new parent. involvement policy for the upcoming year, to just flagging those for you, just as you think down the road, but Board Policy 8100. is not an action-oriented policy, it's an acknowledgement of existing structures. So when you look at 8100, it acknowledges what structures and systems we have. Okay, I don't think I saw DF there, so maybe that may be a comment that I need to… to add. I think I saw PCAC, and I think I understood CCAC is being defined, so… We might need to. I… Oh, wow. Please, please, just send your comments in, though. identified, Tia. Because that'll be helpful. We're
058in the discussions phase of that policy. Oh. Okay, great. Ms. Vickery? that was a… no, that was the last item for me. Smith, I didn't want to interrupt, I just had my hand up for new business in regards… Got you. Um, you asked a question, um, Chair Smith, about who has been attending those meetings. Uh-huh. I've also been attending several meetings around the county. One of the ones that, um, I got to attend, especially with you, on a Saturday, and, um. My friend Ned's here next to me now. Um… was the special education meeting. Yes, Dr. Moss sees you. Um, sorry, it's his student. Oh. Um, you are a student, be quiet. Um, was around special education, and. The thing that came up, um, that concerned me, and I want for us at… for DAP,
059if we could take this up throughout this year. And then, for our guests who are able… who are here tonight, if you guys can think about it and take it back to your different committees and things. Um, you're good. Um, committees that you're… in charge of is… we're lacking a client relationship management system, a CRM. Um, we tend to use dashboards in the county a lot, like spreadsheets and things like that, and I just don't understand why y'all don't have a CRM. Um, especially when it comes to, um, intake of new special ed cases. Um, in healthcare, we use it, you can use it from… at the 800 number for a child fine, but also it can be used internally to input data, so you can track from the time that a parent has requested
060a 504 plan. or IEP meeting, all the way up to implementation. It'll be red. If it's not done, it'll be green. If it was done, yellow if you're waiting. Um, and I just don't understand why y'all don't have it. Um, I'd love for us to have this. the, um, as DAB for us to… look into this and bring it forward. It could also be used around accessibility. It could be used for, um, employment, things like that. And I just don't understand why y'all don't have it. Healthcare has figured it out with PHI. y'all could figure it out. Like, we use them all over the place, and it's really bothersome to me. Um, that that's not present. Thank you, Ms. Vickery. Ms. Welsh, did you have, um, additional comment? I… I do. I wanted to, in
061relation to two of your comments, one had to do with OIG, or Office of Inspector General. I'm thinking you're saying of Education, OIGE. You had asked about, do they ever… is there one for special education? So there is… the state has the Office of Inspector General for Education. But it's not… it does not just investigate financial types of things, you know, or procurement, things like that. It'll investigate anything. That's related to education, which… special education falls under the realm of education. So, as far as if you… you can always send a complaint to them, and they will. look into it and investigate. They investigate a wide variety of topics. within the world of education. So… Uh, and special education could far wander that, too. As well as, you know, MSDE also does have a whole…
062you can file complaints with MSD, and they will investigate those complaints also. Um, and then the other thing, I thought you were talking about whistleblower? Do we have a policy or anything? So we do have… Um, a policy and an administrative procedure, it is, um, the, um, the policy is Policy 0109, and the Administrative Procedure is 2200, and it's called Financial Impropriety, Improper Conduct, and Whistleblower Protection. And under the definition of improper conduct, that's like anything that's improper. So any, you know, any… and many, many things fall under the world of improper, and then it embeds the policy and the procedure. There's a whole section about whistleblower protection. And not being able to retaliate against any… anyone who does file a complaint. Um, because of misconduct. Okay, great. Thank you so much for enlightening me
063on that. Um, Ms. Vickery, did you still have your hand up? Okay. It's for a new topic, because we did say we were going to come back to my. questions that I found that we were pending. from the construction subcommittee. Okay, Mr. Moss? Yeah, I do need to be able to head out here. My mom had surgery, so I'm actually back home taking care of my mom. But I wanted to say two things that I looked up real quick to your… to your point. Um, I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this, but a quick query… I found that Board Member Olivo and Board Member Brown both submitted data requests for you all, and it looks like those might be pending because of legal reasons or whatnot. So, I just want you all to know
064that I did do a query. Should've told y'all I was looking at y'all's stuff, but I did, I just wanted… I didn't want the world to think that they not doing their jobs. Um, and on your last point. Uh, I'm gonna say this publicly, before a great cloud of witnesses. Um, the school district does not need another Office of Integrity and Compliance or anything like that. Uh, we have the legislature gave us a new office to investigate things, and didn't give us an extra money for it. So the district spends an extra $2 million a year funding an office that recoups about $100,000 a year. Uh, in funds. So, um, I'd like us to work within the existing structures to find fraud, waste, and abuse. But I just wanted to say that in front of
065a great cloud of witnesses. Alright, thank you, Mr. Reese. Call me if you need something, too. All right, thank you for that. Sure thing. Thank you for your attendance this evening. Miss… Ms. Vickery? Um, in the interest of time, since we're at 7.53, I would like to ask Mr. Blackson if you can please. I'll work with Ms. Bowman to, uh, get the list of outstanding questions that we've had. Um, from the subcommittee, and so that we can get some answers. Some of them surrounded how many elevator operators do we have that can fix elevators. Um, we were looking… oh, we needed some information and responses back. around… sorry, I'm just scanning just so that we can have a little bit of record. Um. different things surrounding wheelchairs, um… Access to elevators, key cards, things like
066that, and specifically around, um, some of the maintenance of these items. Mr. Blackson, um, so if we can really, uh, get some answers to that. that would be really great. We have some identified people. On that spreadsheet, who are supposed to provide us some answers. Um, like Mr. Jason Washington, um, Ms. Newell. Mr. Matloff, um… Ms. Walker, there's several people that are identified. Um, but I am not seeing where we ever received a PGCPS response from those. And, um, Ms. Vickery, does Ms. Bowman already have those specific questions already with those particular individuals attached? Okay, okay. Yes, yes, and a Google Doc. Yes. So, um, I took some notes, and I can make reference to that particular document and get that clarity based on, um, is it primarily around the functioning or operation of elevators,
067the location of elevators. Title of the document is Questions Related to New School Construction and Building Accessibility. new schools. new school construction and building accessibility. And board members Olivo and Brown, I can forward this to you guys. Um, this was pending from our April meeting. Thank you, Ms. Vickery. Is there any additional new business? Hearing none… One last thing, I'm sorry, just scanning from our minute meetings. our meeting minutes. Um, did we ever get… response back about a DAB retreat. Um, at the time, you and. Chair Blackwell, we're going to take it offline and come back. Just wanted to know if… So, I know, if my memory serves me correctly, we took a motion, the motion passed. Under this body, to have a retreat. As far as next steps. It has been dormant. Um, I
068know that… Ms. Blackwell and myself have not met with anybody. Um, I know one of the rec… we had several recommendations about. a place that we could possibly hold this at. Uh, so… Allow me to, um, take this offline and have a discussion. when Ms. Brown and Ms. Olivial… Um, on the best way to… I guess, execute this, um, before… end of the school year. Ms. Blackwell? I did mention of a place that would be, uh, centrally located for everyone, from the Beltway, be enough. Um, bathrooms, and it's a nice location. Um… I'm just waiting feedback from the committee, what they decide. Mm-hmm. Okay, thank you. All right, um… Ms. Johnson, I don't see where I, um, solicit for a motion to adjourn the meeting. I'm kind of used to that. No, you don't… you
069don't solicit, you just, um… adjourn the meeting. Yeah, do you see the… And what is this? Okay. Just investigate this. Okay. I got it. Yeah. The chair would like to inform the public that the next meeting of the Disability Issues Advisory Board is scheduled for November 18th, 2025. 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. We had very fruitful discussion, guys. To our viewers, thank you for watching and for your continued support. there being no further business, the time is now 7.58 PM, and the October 28th, 2025. meeting of the Disability Issues Advisory Board is hereby adjourned. Thank youHave a good evening