001There are no objections that Razzi Bull should adapt the September 30th, 2025. Meeting agenda. Ms. Vickery, can you please take a roll call vote? Oh, yes. Chair, I'm sorry, there's no roll call vote needed. Okay. Okay. So we can move on. Any objections to the September 30, 2025 meeting agenda? If there's no, um, being no objections to September 30, 2025 meeting agenda is adopted. Approval of the minutes, approval of the June 9th amended meeting minutes. Is there… Are there any correct… no correction… are there any corrections? Ms. Ricky, were there any corrections to the, um, June 9th, 2025? They had to be, um… Yeah, there were corrections that, um, that were identified at our last meeting at the September 9th meeting. And, um, those corrections were submitted along with, um. Those corrections were submitted. When
002I submitted the June 9th meeting minutes. And I believe at the last meeting. Okay, thank you. We, um, we did a vote and approved the minutes, um. Pending the, um, corrections. Okay. So we should, um… Miss, um, um… Johnson, do we need to approve those, um, corrections? No, so typically how this works is that. Um, if any member finds, um, excuse me, any errors. Uh, in the meeting minutes, they would normally, uh, motion to. Would it be recognized, um, and they would state what the correction is, um. And then, um… after the meeting, those corrections will be made. And then, uh, you all would vote again. Um, well, you would take a… you would do another motion at the next meeting. Um, with those corrections. So… the corrections were made to that amended, um, June
0039th meeting minutes, uh. Ms. Vickery, uh, made them, and those were posted, um. But if no one else has any, um… Objections. Yeah, corrections to note. On the June 9th meeting that you can go ahead and… Approve them as… as… as such. Okay. Um, do anyone have any, um, objections for the approval for June 9th, 2025 meeting? Um, minutes being, um… amended. With no answer, we go ahead and approve those minute meetings for June 9th, 2025. Anyone second that? Do I have to second that, Ms. Johnson? No, you could move on to the next item. Yeah. Okay. Approval of the September 9th meeting minutes, if there's no corrections, the Razor Board should approve the September 9, 2025 minute meetings as distributed. Ms. Vicki, was there any corrections for September 9th meeting? So, uh, Chair, just
004for a point, just to, um, point out, I'm sorry. Okay. This is our first time reviewing those, so… So, uh… Um, so typically, this would be an opportunity for any member who's had a chance to read over the meeting minutes to. Uh, asked to be recognized for their… for the corrections, for any corrections that they find. If they don't, then you can go ahead and approve. Okay. Mm-hmm. Okay. Uh, that the September 9th meeting minutes were. Okay. Um, has the committee reviewed the, um, September 9th amendment meetings? Doing one to have anything to add to that, to the minutes, or do any… do we need to… any corrections? If not, we will go ahead and approve the September 9th, 2025. Meaning minutes? And when we want to report of the chair. Report of the chair,
005I don't have anything to report. Vice Chair, do you have anything to report? We probably should've given an update to the board that on September 22nd. Mm-hmm. Um, Chair Blackwell… Ms. Olivy Oliv… oh my god, I wrote it down! Olivo! I want to make sure I get it right! Mm-hmm. Um, the Chief of staff, as well as the interim superintendent, and myself all met. The reason for the meeting was to go over the recommendations that this… that this body presented to the Board of Education. Um, back in June, because, um. The interim superintendent and the chief of staff had not been in place. I did not go over every item in our recommendation report. I simply highlighted items that I thought should be at their attention, because they may need to take an action, or
006may have feedback related to those items. Um, so we… I thought it was… I think it's important for you all to be aware that that meeting was held. Um, it sounds like we do have a commitment, um, from administration to improve some of the items that we. Um, that we are recommending. Um, in fact, in some areas, it sounded like they have already taken some action. Um, so hopefully that feedback will come to us in a formal… manner. So, Ms. Johnson, I actually have a question. Um… The report was presented to the Board of Education and shared with the Board of Education. But… officially, how does that information get over to… the administrative staff. Ideally, I can share that, but because we are expecting responses, is it… The chair's duty to do that, or does
007that come from the Board of Education? We say administrative staff, are you referring to PGCPS, or who… But yeah, so the Chief of staff and the interim superintendent, because they don't… formally, they don't have that document. Mm-hmm. The first day was when I… when we had the meeting, this was their first time being made aware about this document. Mm-hmm. I believe that's something that, um, board members, um, either Olivo or, uh, Board Member Brown could share. With the… with administration. Okay, all right. So that, I think, is it. Um, Chair Blackwell, as far as an update for… Okay, um… Miss Patrick, do you want to give an update of, um, the presentation that you did to capital plan and improvement? Uh, I… I did not formally present. However, I did submit written. Comment. Um, and
008essentially, I summarized, um. Okay. A little bit of history around. Disability rights. Pointed out how, um, it's incredibly important for our board not to perpetuate ableism within our systems. Uh, and to prioritize accessibility. For our buildings. So I did submit that in writing. And I CC'd the. Dab email, so you all have a copy of that written statement as well. Okay. Um, uh, Ms. Smith, I meant to ask you, did you go to Legislative Day? That's actually on our agenda… later on our agenda, so I will be reporting out. Um… It's an agenda… it's a formal agenda item. Okay. That's under new business? Okay, yeah. But before we… Chair Blackwell, if you don't mind, um… this body submitted public comment. Go ahead. For CIP, so maybe, do you want to brief… them… I mean, I
009know the email was sent out, but do you want a brief… Oh, okay. Um… Everybody about what the public comment was from us. I spoke, um, it was a very brief meeting, so I spoke on. The, um… the, uh, conditions of the buildings, um, construction. Um, accessibility for students who are in wheelchairs to playground equipment. As well as, um… entering the buildings, and… Really focused on students who are sensory-prone for equipment to be able to be on the playgrounds to address their needs as well. As well in the building, as well in the classroom, the lighting in the classroom for students that have autism. Um, they can have, like, certain lights, uh, flickering and things to set, set, um. They stress level, um, off in the classroom, so that was brought up, um. And like
010I said, it was a very brief and short meeting. Um, I didn't get to see, um… the comments from us. Ms. Um, Vice Chair, can you speak on that part? Because I didn't get a chance to see that part. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So that… so the write-up, um, was pretty much our consolidated responses, so… Yeah, it was just… it was just one, um… One public comment, specifically from this… from this body, and then I did attend that meeting, so there were public comments. Um, presented by other people in the community, in addition to Ms. Patrick. So, I think… Covered it. Okay. Okay. Um, but someone else did speak and kind of echo what we talked… what I spoke on for, um… The presentation as well, that, you know, we have outdated buildings that have not been,
011um. We haven't had any new buildings as far as the, um, students with disabilities and specialty centers, or anything like that, or the accommodations inside the, um. The regular buildings as well, so that… that's… those are things that really need to be addressed as well. Um, moving on to, um… and the presentation, under, um… This one I'm gonna ask you, Vice Chair, to… give a response for the legislative, um… Let us save this day down in Annapolis. Sure, thank you, Chair Blackwell. So. Um, and our last meeting, I did report out that the Board of Education. Get approved for specific priorities back. On August 21st, 2025. Um, initially, I had only pointed to two areas, and that was special education, then construction of facilities, because I thought that those two items. Was specific to this
012particular, um, body. So, I'm just gonna give you, before I get into the meat of what I would like to report out, I'll give you guys, um… A recap on what those four areas are. So, the first one is special education. Um, PGCPS is… Looking to have increased funding for multi-tiered systems of support to meet individual needs of students receiving special education services. As well as incentives to attract and retain special educators and related service providers. Construction and facilities. Um, we are seeking sufficient funding to address the district's urgent facility needs. Renovating aging school buildings, and then infrastructure and maintenance funding with annual inflation adjustments for new construction. Number three, um, programs to address multilingual learners' achievement. We're seeing to get targeted funding for instructional programs. For the newcomers, integrated academic interventions for long-term English
013learners, and then expanded access to counseling. And social-emotional supports. And then lastly, number 4, safe and secure environments, additional grant funding for school safety improvements. Security enhancement devices, vape detectors, cameras, emergency alert systems. And then support staffing. So, on this day, which was September 19th, um, leaders from PGCPS. Came together with members of the Maryland General Assembly to discuss the future of education in our district. Um, the event underscored the critical importance of partnership between school leaders, elected officials. As well as community stakeholders. Interim Superintendent Joseph opened up with a reminder that when we… when we get our work right. We have some of the most bright scholars. He emphasized the need to remain laser-focused on outcomes. Avoid distractions, and he reiterated the district's mantra. Excellence by design every day. Then, um, our chair for
014the Board of Education, Chair Jackson, he reaffirmed that. And basically, was calling on everyone to stand together for our kids. Um, especially in unprecedented times. Now… thereafter, board members, Moss and Walker framed the day with, um, a shared message, which was educate, advocate, and act together. So now I'm just gonna get into the core meat of all of this. So, for special education. The district continues to face systematic challenges in serving students with disabilities. Particularly in relation to staffing, funding, and compliance. Ms. Bowman emphasized the goal to prepare students for life after high school, whether it's college, the workforce. Or the community. But… for that to happen, it is only possible with consistent and equitable funding. Um, then there was some discussion about the corrective action plan. We kind of discussed in the previous meeting.
015Um, that we are currently… under state oversight. Um, and just real quick, if you guys have not seen in your email, Ms. Johnson did share the report that Ms. Bowman, uh, presented to the Board of Education last month, so you guys have a copy of that. Mm-hmm. And since then, to my understanding. The district submitted corrective actions, and those have been accepted. Um, so… just wanted to point that out. Um… One of the items with the corrective actions was dealing with teacher vacancies, from what I understand, that has been reduced by 50%. Pgcps remains dis… apportionate, disproportionate, excuse me. As it relates to suspension rates and other compliance concerns. Um, the team outlined the success… that success is measured through multiple data points. That's IEP goals, benchmark data, both formal and informal assessments. Um, there
016was one question that I brought up, and I just want to mention it here. I had to, but we ran out of time. We didn't even get a chance to do our small groups. But the first question that I was able to pose was. How would the state ensure that special education and Title I funding. Formulas work together to meet the compounding needs of students. And high-poverty districts like PGCPS. Um, I don't have my stat in front of me, but for people that follow this information, we have a. A number of special education students, and then when you look at the number of special education students in our Title I schools. That number is high, so… I posed that question to our legislators as it relates to funding. The next question that I wanted to
017ask, that I think is important, but hopefully, um… I could share it if there are future discussions. Is, um, if federal protections under IDEA were ever threatened, what specific and proactive steps would Maryland take to uphold the rights of students with disabilities at the state level? As you all know, um, we have heard discussions about the dismantling of the Department of Education, so that's… where that question is stemming from. As it relates to construction and facilities, the department. Of capital programs, if that is what they're called. They shared the district's, um, significant facility needs. Noting a large backlog of deferred maintenance due to decades of unfunding. And although PGCPS has completed 17 major capital. Projects and improve energy efficiency throughout newer facilities challenges still do persist. Um, the key areas of concern. Um… was dealing
018with preventative maintenance and custodial work. As far as their tracking systems, stadiums and athletic fields often fall. Outside of the standard IAC-supported projects. Um, I have this note here, and I… Really don't. I'm not familiar with IAC. But there was something about IAC scores must reach 70% or higher. To qualify for some state support. It sounds like there's something dealing with bond funds. Mm-hmm, goodbye. And how they're restricted to capital funds. That is out of my area of expertise, but thought I would share. Um, there's sufficient funding and flexible fund… sufficient and flexible funding is needed to modernize aging buildings. Support the CTE lab development and ensure facilities are safe, healthy, and conducive to learning. Um, as it relates to the multilingual learners, 45% of the students identified. As multilingual learners. Um, represent a major
019focus area for PGCPS. Um, that chairperson shared that while newcomer. Students often thrive post-graduation, long-term English learners struggle to show growth, and that impacts the district's state report card performance. So, some things that PGCPS has initiated is a resident teacher program. Certification pathways for paraeducators. And then credential and support for international… internationally trained professionals. Um, and then those efforts are aimed to diversify the educator pipeline and better reflect the culture and linguistic backgrounds of students. Um, uh… one of the expectations is that. For this area that they receive long-term investment to ensure sustainable progress in both academic achievement and then social-emotional well-being. And then lastly, safety and security. Um, Dr. Coleman outlined the investments that have already been made in partnerships with. Our legislators, um, that included vape detection systems, entry monitoring devices. And then,
020um, security. Cameras, which it looks like it was limited… I think between 6 to 10 schools due to current CIP funding. And then, although these improvements have been made, safety needs remain urgent. Um, there's understaffing, which makes it difficult to monitor. Um, this, like, the security devices, effectively. Um, it seems like there's a rise in use of Narcon. Narcon, am I saying that right? Narcan. Narcan. Um, rising use of Narcan on school grounds, and then that highlights a need for health and addiction education. Um, our deaf and hard of hearing students, this was… This was kind of hard to listen to, um, because it sounds like there was a story. There was a… it's not that it sounds like… there was a story shared at a school where… Um, an emergency occurred in the… The
021student that was deaf did not hear the… well, they couldn't hear the alert, and it… And no one was able to get to that student. So, what they were saying is deaf and hard of hearing students require expanded access to visual. Alerting systems. Um, it sounds like there is a pilot that's being done currently at Roosevelt, just in Brooks. Um, then we have safe passage coordinators are only funded at the high school level. Um, ex… under existing Maryland grant funding. Um, and then also in this area, I have that the district is exploring AI-powered alert systems. But cost remains a barrier. And the leaders were urging the legislators to expand support for safety and wellness programming across all grade levels. So overall, um, I think that there was definitely a shared commitment to student success.
022Um, you know, I already mentioned that we ran out of time. I mean, it was a… it was… really good conversation and engagement. Um, that was going on, but we were only scheduled for, I think, 2 or 3 hours, and ideally, we needed more time. So, I yield the floor back to you, Ms. Blackwell. Okay, Ms. Vickery, you're recognized. Thank you, Chair Blackwell. I just wanted to go back to the AIC. It is, um… the… it's the actual equation that they use to determine. When it is time, um, I guess this is for the rest of the board and for the public when it's time to. Um, use those funds to either build a new. Location, or to replace or refurbish completely a location. Um, and then there's a, um, it's a large equation. It
023also includes. Includes enrollment at that location. And it includes enrollment around the surrounding schools in that location. Um, and whether that enrollment is above enrollment or below enrollment, it's an entire. Equation, um, I… And if anybody wanted to… learn how the equation works, um, it would be in the September 2024 board meeting. Where they had, and I cannot think of her name. Hoping Mr. Blackson might remember her name. Um, she gave a full presentation for about 30 minutes about how the actual equation works and how they decide which schools, um. This should be replaced or refurbished, or how they get their, um. Their actual funding. Um, so if anybody wants to view that, that, um, that is a really good, um. Meeting to go back in and see, and I believe it was September of
0242024. Okay, thank you, Ms. Vickery, for the information. Um, do anyone have any comments on what Ms. Smith just… We pour it out. Any questions? Any comments? Okay, um, we go into new business. Topic request by the advisory board members. Are there additional topics anyone would like to bring forward for the discussion this evening? Methwickery? I just would like to, um, make sure that. We get, um, for our building. Um, and facilities subcommittee. I think we should have a discussion around. Um, the visual alerts. For students, I think, um, we definitely… I'm not sure that we focused on that last time. Um, so I think that we should definitely take that up as a focus this year, so I just wanted to put that on the record. Um. I think that's really, really, really, really
025important about, um. Being able to understand that, and I think we need to take it up in tandem with. Our children who do have autism, and because it is a strobing light. Effect to alert you that there is. Um, an emergency happening. Um, and it… Um, I'm trying to think of the best way, I… In a past life, I worked, um. With those who were hearing impaired, um, in a hospital, and so our entire hospital was hearing impaired. Um, and our main language was ASL, American Sign Language. So it is a strobing light, and so I think we do, as just a subcommittee, do need to have that conversation. Um, and maybe give some feedback to the board. Around how do they, um… you know, go about getting that set up, or even just some
026thoughts around it, you know, because there is, um… We do want to be careful that we're not. Impacting anybody's medical needs with our children with autism and even our children with epilepsy and things like that. I'd like to recognize Ms. Smith and then Ms. Dole. Ms. Vickery, thank you so much for sharing that. Um, I echo exactly… Um, the items that you pointed out, because again, it was hard to hear the… The justification on why this is part of the priorities. Um… So, Mr. Black's son, um, I know you sent in from Ms. Bowman. Is it possible that you take back to her that we would like to get a… she's our chair for that subcommittee. Um, that we get a meeting, because I was also wondering… you know, when should this particular subcommittee meet
027again, considering we are in legislative season, and if there are items that. The district needs to communicate to them from this particular body, you know, could we try to get that captured before they go in session? If they haven't already gone in session. Um, and I guess that also is a segue for the other subcommittees as well. Maybe not the policy. Committee, but, um… Maybe there's some items on the… The employment and hiring side as well, because we… a lot of those… priorities, everything talks about funding, so… and needs for more support. And even, like, last night, I was, um… I was at a special education… Like, entry session for one of the schools that I'm a parent of, and they talked about the need for additional staffing, even though. They believe that they have
028met the… I guess the requirements with the staff and matrix, but… Um, staff has already left, and so there's a gap. On the special education side, so… If the other subcommittees could consider, um… Taking a look at, you know, how can we get our legislators to do whatever we think needs to be done, whether it's funding or not. It could be some other areas that need to be touched. Um, and then… Miss Patrick. Um, for the policy and governance committee. Um, I don't know if it's possible for us to meet before the next DIAB meeting, because, you know. That particular meeting is going to have. Board Member Moss and Ms. Welsh present. And… I don't think that this came up. Last in our, you know, last term. But there is a statement in that policy
029that's… that basically says that this group is to produce recommendations. And if we are to produce recommendations, my… in my mind. Trying to think of it from a policy perspective, there's gonna be, like, this feedback loop, and I… I'm thinking that we might need to flesh out that policy statement a little bit more as it relates to. What happens after these recommendations are made? You know, is the expectation that this body receives. A formal response, whether it's written or it's in a meeting. Um, I think it might need to be fleshed out a little bit more if there is an expectation. That we turn over recommendations. So what's the next step after that? So I wanted to… put that out there just in case we need to meet before the next meeting, so that'd be
030part of our discussion item. And then one last thing, Ms. Welsh. Um, pulled me to the side at the legislative briefing. She has not seen our work in document. I don't think nobody has. So, I told her, you know, we're more than happy to share that with her before we have our meeting so that, you know, she'll have… be able to do some prep. Um, for the discussion. Okay, uh, Ms. Dole, you were next. Rachel? It's been addressed, I'm good. Oh, okay, thank you. Um, Ms. Patrick? Thank you. I do, um… I am happy, uh, Co-Chair Smith, to… convene the policy committee before we meet. Um, so I will send an email out this week to get folks' availability. I also wanted to bring to the group's attention, for the good of the order, that
031today, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report. Titled, The Federal Response to Teacher Shortage Impacts on Students with Disabilities. I'd highly recommend, um. Folks skim through it. It is a very extensive document, over 120 pages. Um, but through my day job, unaffiliated with this role, I had the opportunity to testify. Um, and last fall to inform that report. It is very comprehensive, uh, and they also give some suggestions. Around how to address. Um, the teacher shortage, there are various suggestions there, but I would encourage all to inform. Thank you, Ms. Patrick. Ms. Payne? Yes, Ms. Patrick, would you please repeat the title of that report again? Thank you. Themselves of the report. Sure. The federal response to teacher shortage impacts. On students with disabilities. Okay. Ms, um… Payne, did you get the information?
032I did. Thank you, Chair Blackwell. Okay, thank you. Um… One thing I want to add to new business, I know that we have our subcommittees, and I wanted to know. Have this subcommittee chairs contacted, they team members. For their committees to see, to give them a day when you would be able to start back up, and… Working on the goals that we have set for the committee. I have not yet, Chaired Blackwell, but I will do that this week. Um, Ms. Patrick? Okay, thank you. Um, Ms. Payne? I have not yet either, Ms. Blackwell, but I am happy to do that. Okay, thank you. And Ms. Bowman is not here this evening, so I will be able to send out an email to see when we can start convening our subcommittees together. By this, we're
033getting ready to, um, walk into October, so we need to begin the work. Um, anyone else have any, um, new business for the committee? Um, Ms. Smith? No new business, but just to, um, touch on that last item. Um… I, J… K? Did I get that correct? Yes. Okay, so you may not have already, uh, reached out to any of our subcommittees, but we have 3 of them. And if you are interested in joining. Either or R3, um… It's open to you. Um, it's the Policy 1700 subcommittee. Facilities and new construction. And then our hiring and employment subcommittee. And I'm sure our chairs, if you need some information about, um… what, you know, what the work is. Even though the work is still being… determined and fleshed out for those committees. They'll be able to
034explain to you, um, what it is that they're working on currently. Ms. Dole? Thanks. I just wanted to let everybody know I was able to download that report and upload it into the general documents folder of our, um. Google Drive. And thank you, Ms. Patrick, for letting us know about it. Okay, thank you. Um, Mr. Vickery? Yes, I have a question, um, that I wanted to bring here. I know that we are coming up, um. October 30th, um… for the specialty schools. Showcase, um, I guess this question is more for Board Member. Olivio and, um, board member Aji Kaye. Um, just wondering… And maybe it's not necessarily a question. I don't know, we'll flesh it out as we go through it. Um. Do we know, and maybe actually it was for Ms. Mr. Black's son,
035in lieu of Ms. Bowman. Do we know that, um, the Special Education Department will be there. At the specialty schools showcase, um, for our parents who have children with special education. Identified for them, so that they can navigate, um, the specialty showcase, like. I just want to make sure. For… because I'm… honestly, I'm not looking at the calendar, so I'm not sure when our next meeting is. But in thinking about access… accessibility. And even accessibility to all programs. Um, just wondering if… if… they will be there, have they been… have our students been, you know, reached out to? I think back to when my child. Um, I just took a chance with the lottery, I didn't know anything about it. Um, so I'm just hoping that there's been something. Um, sent to the families, um,
036so that they know that this opportunity is available as well. Um, especially around our specialty schools and our specialty high schools and our middle school programs. Mr. Blackson, would you like to open? Um… Yes, good afternoon, Mr. Biggery. I don't… I can't answer whether there has been any, um, specific strategic approach to students with disabilities in isolation of, you know, all other students. I'm sure it's a comprehensive. Comprehensive dissemination, but what I will do is take that back and, um, bring that point that you just shared, because it may be, um, something that we take a look at. Thank you, Mr. Blackson. Um, Ms. Smith and then Ms. Dole. So I definitely don't want to speak for the Special Education Department, but I will just chime in here really quick, um, Ms. Vickery, I attended
037the District 8 Parent Engagement Session. Um, you know, that's one of nine that the superintendent is having… is having. And one of the questions that I did ask was surrounding, um… you know, equity with our specialty programs and our special education students. And I believe, um, Dr. White, as well as Trannell. Um, talked about there is a conscious effort dealing with recruitment. Um, and then even, you know, for some… I got… I think it's at the middle school level, where they may have to do, like, a. Showcases in my head, because you said it, but, um… Oh my god. But you know where they go and kind of demonstrate? Audition. Audition, yes. Um, it was shared that they do… that the district is providing support for those students, um, during those times. So, ideally, it's
038best to hear from Ms. Bowman, but I will say that. From what I gathered. In response to the question that I posed, it sounds like the district is definitely making an effort to ensure that. Inclusion and equity is there for our students with disabilities. Ms. Dole? Thank you, that… that meeting came up, um, the same night as, I think, one of our PTO meetings. I think. I had sent a message to you, and I was like, I hope you get there, because I won't be there. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Ms. Dole? Door, I'm sorry. Rachel? Thanks. Um, does the specialty… Is this including charter schools, or is this just including specialty programs like, um… Like, the arts program, or, like, um… science and technology sort of programs. That's not the charter schools, okay. It's my understanding,
039it's just that it's not the charter schools, it's the, um… No, it's the… it's our… it's the PGCPS, um, specialty program, so, like, the… Okay. Language immersion schools, the creative arts, performance schools, STEM, um… And I believe we also have, uh, Montessori and a few others, and then, you know, the different high schools all have. Different programs, like aerospace at Duval, and. Board Member Olivio is shaking her head, because she knows I've been… I've been tracking every school that has a different place, um, and in Gwen Park, and don't get me started, I can name them all. Um, so yeah, it's just our special… the specialty ones, it's not the charter schools. And so I was really, um, interested about. Thanks. You know, because we have all the applications open up for the specialty schools
040within the next. Yes. I don't know, 30 days, I think, um, high school opens up in, like, 2 weeks, I believe, and then… I know that the elementary and middle schools, I think, open up on a… on the 1st of November. So, just wanted to make sure that I, you know, that the special ed… students who are identifying special education needs, or 504 plan needs, or anything like that, that they have access, or they know that it's available to them. You know, this is not out of their realm. Thanks for the clarification. Can I… sorry, can I ask a question? Um, and this might be towards… Uh, Mr. Blackson. Um, charter schools are required to honor IEPs and 504s, yes? Yes. Okay, I heard about a principal at a charter school that said, um… kids
041with, like, 504s and IEPs weren't… Maybe a good fit at that school, so I just wanted to… verified that… They indeed do need to follow. I was pretty concerned that I heard a principal say… that I heard, it's secondhand, so, you know, I don't want to call them out here in this public forum, but, um, it was alarming to me that a principal of a charter school would so brazenly say that. Um, I'd like to add to that comment of the specialty schools, my granddaughter has an IEP since elementary school, middle school, and high school. She's in the IB program at Laurel, um. She's thriving, um, we have meetings constantly with the teachers if we have to, um… Um, I do have a compliance officer to attend her meeting. Um, to make sure everything runs
042smoothly for her, and she receives her accommodations. Um, she's really doing well, and she has a full IEP, so just to let you know, the IEP process does work as long as you have a team that's willing to work with you. Um, anything else you'd like to bring up for new business for the, um, for our committee this evening? Um, Ms. Olivio? And then Ms. Patrick. Thank you so much, Ms. Blackwell. Um, I, um… one, I'll just echo that, um, I also have a son with an IEP who… who was in. Successfully graduated from a specialty program in PGCPS, so… Um, that should not be stopping anybody, but I just wanted to make sure that everybody was aware of the, um. The, um, chat and chew, not… not the biggest fan of that title, but
043the Chat and Shoe with, um. Chair Brandon Jackson, and if several of my colleagues around the topic of special education this coming Saturday morning. At 11.30. At Lake Arbor Elementary School. And I'll go ahead and forward that flyer if you haven't seen it yet, um, to, um… to the, um… To the email address, Ms. Blackwell, if you could share that with the members of the… of the committee, um, that would be awesome, but we would love. Yes. We would love folks, um, you know, to join us and participate in that meeting on Saturday morning. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Patrick? Yes, I'm just wondering, um, last… session. One of our recommendations or findings was around the time that it. Was taking for educators to receive responses. To their reasonable accommodations request. I'm wondering if that
044is on the radar of our board members to address at this time, or if that was a topic of conversation. Um, with the new executive leadership co-chair Smith. Ms. Smith? Thanks for bringing that up, Ms. Patrick. Um, we definitely did highlight that from our recommendations report, what was shared was that. The… the team, because I don't… I don't… I don't know if it's a division… I don't know how it's categorized, but the team… Um, that handles the request. Were extremely understaffed, and that is what was causing a delay in, um. Employees getting a response on their request. Um, it sounds like they are working to try to staff up that particular group. Um, but he didn't go into too much detail other than he's… he's aware that that team was understaffed. I did bring up
045the point that. We are suggesting that. Our principals receive some level of autonomy in the interim. Um, there wasn't an initial reaction to that, but I did voice it. And then Miss Olivio, I don't know if you… I'm gonna add anything. Yeah, um… I don't have… I don't have too, too much to add, but I do want to share that that, um, concern… I think we and the administration are absolutely aware of that concern. Um, and I know that the special education department, um, is as well, and I think that, um. The… the superintendent really, you know, putting the focus on hiring, um, the appropriate number of staff will hopefully, um, start to mitigate this, and I can't… I just… I'm sorry, I don't have the knowledge to speak to the… the question about the
046autonomy for principals at this time. Uh, Ms. Payne? Um, I guess, uh, maybe… I'm not sure who to direct this question, because. Earlier, there was… um, discussion about funding. Um, is there any… effort to increase funding for reasonable accommodation, because part of it is staffing, another part is also the funding for whatever the accommodation is. And, um, I'm wondering how that's being addressed. Um. Um, Ms. Smith? So, Ms. Payne, um… I can just say outright, I did not bring up the funding piece, and perhaps I was not. Aware that that is another barrier. I'm dealing with this, because, again, the superintendent only talked about the staffing piece. So perhaps, if I may, Ms. Olivio. When that report is sent over to the Chief of Staff and the Superintendent, maybe we could add that, that we
047are aware that there is a… There's an additional barrier. I cannot remember… I cannot recall from the report. If we explicitly caught that out, so maybe we could just highlight that as another item. For them to consider and circle back to us with. Yeah, I think those… I'm sorry, Ms. Blackwell, do you mind if I jump in? Oh, yes, Chairman, um, board member. Olivia. Oh, okay, thank you. Thank you. Um, no, I think those points are so well stated, and, um, absolutely, additional funding, um, for special education students is in our advocacy platform for Annapolis. I think this is where, um, one of… one of many places where we're just gonna really ask for all of you and for all of our families' support, um, in Annapolis. I'll just be blunt, I think we're literally
048gonna be, like, fighting for our lives to just keep the dollars that we have, let alone, um… increase the money that we know we need. Um, in Annapolis this session, and, um, we're gonna be fighting for that, absolutely. Um, as a board and the superintendent, um, is, is completely. 100% in on that with us as well, um, but it's… it's gonna be really hard this year. Um… Okay. Really, really hard, so we just, um… you know, would ask for you all to. To be there with us as well, and reaching out to each of your, um, state delegates and senators, um, for those asks, also. Um, Vice Chair Smith? And then Ms. Vickery. Just… just as a point of clarity, Ms. Olivio, um… Because it may apply to our students, but this particular item is
049specifically for the. Staff, the PGCPS staff, so… It sounds like there's barriers with… you know, maybe they need a screen reader or something, just hypothetically saying something. It seemed like… Some of their accommodations are not being met due to. Funding. Ms. Vickery? I wanted to just say that, um, Vice Chair Smith, I think you're right. I'm not sure that… we, um, when I think back to the documents and everything that was presented. I don't know… I… I don't think that it was very… Clearly identified, like, I believe we delineated it, like, we spoke about funding. Being able to accommodate staff, and that the lack of funding was there, but I don't know that the amount of emphasis that we put on it. Um, so I would just suggest for us as a board that we
050definitely make sure that. Um, we… we increased the emphasis on that, um, because I know we… we emphasize, like, the timeline, and I see Ms. Patrick put her hand up, because these are the things I remember. I remember us emphasizing the timeline. I remember us emphasizing that the reporting, I remember us getting back to getting that, um. What was it, like, a 30-day report versus a… Um, it was, like, almost, like, 100 days or 45 days. Like, I remember all of those things very, very succinctly. I remember us talking about funding. I remember us highlighting it, but I do not think we put the amount of emphasis on it that we needed to. And so probably in this year, we might need to make sure that we… make sure that that is in focus as
051well. Ms. Patrick. Thank you, Ms. Rickery. Thank you so much, Ms. Vickery. I will also share that, um, the data that. We use to inform and, you know. Have knowledge of some of that information, um, was… From me submitting a FOIA request to, um, the county. I do intend to submit another Freedom of Information Act request as an independent citizen around the timeline. That educators… are waiting for responses, or staff in general, are waiting for responses to reasonable accommodation requests in the county, and my hope is to use that. Data to deter… for us to determine and assess if that timeline is shortening and improving, or if it is not. So I do have intentions to submit another request, not on behalf of DAB, but independently, and of course, I will share. Thank you, Ms.
052Patrick. Greatly appreciate that. Um… Vice Chair, um, Smith? I'm sorry, Ms. Patrick just made me think of one more thing. I think this is for Ms. Johnson, and perhaps, um… board member Olivio. We, as a… body here submitted… We had data requests from our last term, and it's still outstanding. So, if there could be some follow-up with that, because I know… well, I won't say I know. I assume, since we made those requests. That's gonna inform the work that the subcommittees are doing, so… If we could get the responses, or even if there's no response, is it that the data doesn't exist? We need something. Um, and if I need to bring the request to the top of the email. I can certainly do so, but that's still an outstanding item. Thank you, Vice Chair
053Smith. Are there any other comments towards, um, new business? Could I just ask a clarifying question about the data request? Ms. Smith, is that separate from the report? Was that a separate, um… maybe email with requests. Would you mind forwarding that to me? I don't think I saw that. And then I'll be happy to work with Board Member Brown and, um, and work on getting that, um. That response for you. Thank you. Okay, great. That'll be helpful, and it does… it predates you. Yeah, it was… kind of early on when we started our research and our subcommittee, so absolutely. Okay, yeah. By share… I'm sorry, excuse me, if I may interject. Do you mind CCing me on the email as well? Okay. Thank you. Okay, thank you, Vice Chair and, um, Board Member Olivio. Um,
054are there any other topics for new business to be discussed, Ms. Bickery? I just have a… clarify a question for the minutes. Um, do you… Chair Blackwell and Vice Chair Smith, do you want me to go back and, um, review the previous minutes and see if I can find those data requests to add in? Photo written minutes, if I have the titles of the… Yes. I think it, yeah, that may be helpful. I'll also do a search in… In Google? Okay, because I can at least just support it when we publish the minutes, at least people can see the topics. If I could find it, if not, I will still make a note that we discussed that I was going to look for it, and then if I couldn't find it, I'll just make a
055note in the notes that that was. I could not find the specific topics. Okay, thank you, Ms. Bakery. Mm-hmm. Are there any other discussions, any additional discussions for new business? Any comments? With that being said, um… I will adjourn the meeting. For this evening? If there's any… if there's no other comments? Um, I was joining me in the, um… I'd like to inform the public of the next board meeting, Advisory disability issue advisory board meeting will be October 28th. 2025. Please continue to visit Prince George's County Public Schools websites for meeting dates and updates. Thank you for your valuable contribution. To the committee and to our viewers, thank you for watching and for your continued support. There'll be no more further business at this time. Now is 7.05, and it's September 30th meeting for DDAP.
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