001You will have 3 minutes to make your presentations. Speaking time may not be relinquished to another registered or unregistered individual. You may not address individuals or issues with profanity or derogatory terms. You will be warned once. If you continue, your comments will be muted, and you may be removed from the meeting. You are encouraged to use titles rather than names. For example, principal, superintendent, etc. Your adherence to these guidelines will enable the public participation process to move smoothly. Our live speakers are… Shannon Wilson? Is our first speaker. Hi, Shannon. Hello. Good evening. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Shannon Wilk, and I am CASA's Director of Education. Casa provides leadership development, college and career readiness, ESOL classes, and vocational training. To both youth and adult immigrants in Prince George's County. I am
002here this evening to express my sincere gratitude to county leadership for your commitment to protecting immigrant families. Through implementation of the Maryland Values Act. However, it is important to note that PGCPS already passed a policy earlier this year that goes beyond the minimal protections of this state law. I am here this evening instead to ask that our school leaders take into consideration the unprecedented context in which we start the school year. Last week, masked individuals chased down and violently detained two community members. In front of Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring. While the incident did not technically occur on school property, it did occur on the sidewalk immediately in front of the school, and many students were using… that many students were using. That morning, while others watched in horror from the car loop. Teachers,
003staff, students, and families were traumatized by what they witnessed. And are now understandably fearful of what is to come next, with school attendance in decline. While the Maryland Values Act prohibits ICE from accessing school property without a judicial warrant. Here is what must be taken into consideration when updating PGCPS's own policies. Have staff received training on how to identify ice, report sightings, and handle such vulnerable and intense situations? Who within the district is responsible for enforcing and communicating these protocols? What is the protocol for when ICE is parked near a school? Are drills in place for responding when a student is approached or detained by ICE on or near campus? What is the protocol for immediately communicating to caregivers when there is a confirmed ICE incident at. Or near school. Why isn't there a code
004red response? We asked the board to design robust policies that address these questions. And that a multifaceted communications plan be established, so that all impacted members of the school community are informed and well-prepared to respond. Just as we have developed new and innovative ways to keep students safe during a variety of other emergency situations. We must now think of culturally responsive strategies to protect our students, particularly our Black and Brown students. From cruel, senseless, and indiscriminate ICE enforcement. So that all can thrive in welcoming, safe. An inclusive educational spaces. Thank you for your attention to this urgent and deeply time-sensitive matter. Sorry, thank you, Ms. Wilk. Um, our second speaker is Ashley Rosales. I don't see her in the queue. Okay. No, I'm breaking rules, but I have to ask, I have her statement in
005front of me, um, if you're interested in me reading it. I don't think so, but if you… you could absolutely submit that as, um, as written comment, um, or Mr. Rosales could submit that as written comment, please. Yes, I absolutely will do that, and I did want to point out. Many people were interested in testifying tonight, but due to the public nature of this forum and the unprecedented threats to. Our students' safety. Unfortunately, they weren't able to be present, but would absolutely love to follow up. With that written testimony. Again, thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Okay, that concludes our public comment for the evening, and so we will move now to our legislative update. And I recognize Mrs. Welsh for the legislative updates, please. Good evening. Um, so I didn't realize
006that Board Member, um, Walker was not going to be here this evening, because I was certain that she would be excited to share where we are with the process. But I will definitely talk a couple minutes about Legislative Day, and Dr. Moss is also here, and he's been a part of the planning meeting, so he can certainly jump in at any point. Um, so we are… I think we're pretty much prepared for, uh, Friday. We've gotten a good list of RSVPs of people that are planning to come between our delegates and our… Senators, but we're very excited about. Our chief… chiefs in the different divisions have been working on putting together data sheets. And being prepared to run, uh, not run, but participate in work groups with. The delegates and the senators and board members
007are four major priorities and answer any questions. Brainstorm with, uh, everyone in terms of ways to address the concerns and needs of the district. And, um, and basically have everything in preparation. Students are in the culinary class, they're working, um, they're excited about, uh, putting the food together and actually preparing it and everything, and it just… it's a great opportunity to showcase. The work that they're doing, as well as. After this session, there are… there is an opportunity for delegates and senators and board members, anyone that wants to. To take a few minutes to, uh, come and, um. View some of the CTE classes. Um, and the school is pro… that. So, I think, uh, that we're just working out the final little details, but everything's in place, and I think everyone's pretty excited about
008moving forward. Uh, Dr. Moss, I didn't know if you want to add anything more to that. No, I wouldn't add anything to it. Um, I think it's pretty comprehensive. I just want to publicly thank. Um, you for your leadership, and Board Member Walker in her absence for… Um, making sure we are all set for Friday. Great. Thank you, Ms. Walsh. I'll just add, um, I know we do have, um, several, um. Members of the public on the call this evening, so I just wanted to. Give a tiny bit of additional information that Ms. Welsh is talking about our PGCPS legislative day. Um, which we are organizing, um, for this Friday morning. Um, so it's an invitation, um, event. Where our Board of Education members are interim superintendent, and his, um. Top leadership will be meeting
009with our Maryland General Assembly delegates and senators to ensure that we are all on the same page with the same priorities. Um, as they get ready for their, um, General Assembly session in Annapolis this January. Um, I also will note that we are not, um, the public comment, um, time period has closed, and so we are not able to take. Um, any additional comments or questions right now from the public. Um, thank you, Ms. Welsh, um, for your… for all of your hard work. Um, I think we are now ready to move to our proposed policies. Um, there are 3 more items for discussion. There will be two rounds of discussion per item. Each round will last 2.5 minutes. If a third round is required, a vote will be taken. Um, and so our first
010policy, um, yet to be numbered, um. Immigration enforcement activity. The chair recognizes Mrs. Welsh to present her guest speakers and provide an update. On this proposed policy. Thank you. So, um… the, uh, be it's, um, the policy is named Interacting with Immigration Enforcement, but it's actually… the purpose of the policy. Is to, um… implement, basically, the Maryland's Values Act, which requires that the Board of Education. Provide a policy, put together a policy that is based on the Attorney General's guidance. For what needs to be in place in our school systems. Or in our schools, if in fact, ICE agents are, um, or, uh, officials come into the school. And what are we supposed to be prepared for? So, I want to let you know that in this particular policy, I put a lot of detail
011into it based on what is in the Maryland Values Act. Only because I feel, um, there's an urgency to try to move this policy forward as soon as possible. And enact it so that we can have action within the schools and move forward. Not to say that it stops anyone from doing anything right now. But I… normally, this kind of detail would probably sit in an administrative procedure, but I did not want it to slow that process down. Since, um, it is, um, you know, urgent importance. I have the policy itself is pretty much. In alignment with every aspect of the law, and of course, always the board can. Can go beyond… the law, they can be a little bit… they can't be less conservative in terms of not following the law, but they absolutely
012can certainly have more requirements if they want to go a little bit beyond, so… I will, uh, just go through this. And then, um, anyone has any questions, we can discuss. So, Cindy, do you mind posting it? You may have to go a little without it. I'm still working on… Diligent has given some issues, so I'm still working on it on the back end. Oh, so you can't post it? Okay, but everyone has a copy of it? Okay, so, um… The posse starts off with a policy statement that says. That a Prince George's County Public School Board of Ed strives to provide educational services to students and their parents, as well as community members, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. And that students and staff members throughout Prince George's County Public Schools. Work, learn,
013and interact in schools and worksites that affirm diverse backgrounds. Um, and the whole purpose of the policy is to provide guidance for staff on interaction with immigration. Enforcement agents. What you will see in the policy, and I think this is what the Attorney General was attempting to do, is. Make sure to allow the staff within a school to push as far as they possibly can, and to be… to safeguard students or other staff, or parents or whoever who might be in the building as much as they can without putting that staff member in a position… Where the criminal charges could possibly be filed against them, because in the guidance, they did talk about numerous law cases where. Uh, staff and different organizations went… went beyond and didn't, you know, either attacked. Allow them to… to
014enter a building or whatever, and they ended up, um. These people actually were, you know, charged with criminal, uh, different criminal actions. So, there's numerous definitions within the policy in the beginning to help make sure there's clarity between what's an administrative warrant. Which sometimes ICE agents come out, and they'll have their administrative warrant, but that is just a bureaucratic document that's signed by immigration… The right to enter private spaces without permission. And then, um, there's also a definition for the judicial warrant, which is the only warrant that counts when it comes to, um, ICE agents having access to either. A location within a school or else, um, uh, records or information. And the judicial warrant, though, first of all, can't be unexpired, so that looking at the date's really important, and usually the… heading at
015the top of the warrant that has the court, like, the U.S. District Court judge or magistrate, and then the… of the court, the U.S. District Court, and then the judge or magistrate actually signs it. And it specifically lists the school facility among the places to be searched for that either a person or evidence. Um, related to the person. And so, it is the judicial warrant that is… that must be followed, and not the administrative warrant. And then the definitions also talk about confidential information, because they cannot… our staff cannot, and this is, no matter what, cannot be sharing confidential information about students, or. Parents' families are contractors, volunteers. Any of those people… oh, good, Cindy! So if you want to scroll down to definitions on my confidential information, and then they also, within the law,
016it talks about either the ICE agent has to have a judicial warrant, or if it's a stop, stop, go right back, oh, keep scrolling down just a tad until you get right there, exigent circumstances. Go up just one little piece, up there, right there. And that refers to emergency situations that require law enforcement to act immediately to address a threat to public safety. Without pausing to obtain the prior approval from a judge, um, that the Fourth Amendment does require. And then, of course, there's information about, uh, definition about what an ICE agent is. And then, uh, our, um… because our facilities, and then private space. This is important, and this will be important as this, as, uh, when this gets implemented and really probably needs to move forward. As soon as possible is a space
017and a sensitive location that is not open to the general public. So, to go to a sensitive location. So, a public school is one of the locations that is considered a sensitive location. So then, it's very important that we're very clear about what are considered private spaces within a public school. And what are considered the public spaces. And a private space is any space in a sensitive location that is not open to the general public. So, in reality, if you think about how our schools are set up and how they operate. Um, that most of the school is really considered a private space. The only place that is really considered public is when you might… and depending on the school and how it's built, too, but a lot of times you walk into a school
018where there might be somewhat, like, of a lobby area, which would be considered, like, the public space, and then if you go into the office, because. That's usually where you go to talk to the secretary, or sign in with Raptor, which you're required to do. That would be the only other place. Everything beyond that is really considered private, and so, as you'll see in a few minutes in the policy, there will be a requirement to make sure there's signage. In each of the buildings to designate what is what, so that it's very clear about, you know, when an ice age that might be overstepping their bounds by stepping into a private space without the appropriate, um. Um, uh, warrants are… or the situation. So, the next thing is to go into the standards. Cindy, if
019you can scroll down. Keep going. We're almost there. There we go, standards. So, first one, all schools in Prince George's County Public Schools are considered. Are considered private spaces, except those spaces that are open to the general public, such as main lobby, main office, or unrestricted hallways. Um, secondly, the superintendent shall ensure that all private spaces are marked with clear signage and that access to private spaces is limited to on… limited to authorized categories of individuals. And that… that… I think that should be fairly easy, and should be actually implement… being implemented anyway, only because of. All the work that the school system has done in terms of, like, sexual predators. And having people sign in through Raptor and not allowing people to go beyond a certain place because of. To protect our students, um,
020for people that could be on the sexual registry. So. Um, but still, I think we need to have the signage, which is required, and then the Superintendent designee shall not authorize any person seeking to enforce immigration laws to enter private spaces except pursuant to a judicial warrant or. Where exigent circumstances require such access. Then the superintendent doesn't designate a PGCPS official to be the primary point of contact for issues related to immigration enforcement. And so, he will have… have to identify someone. I believe right now it is General Counsel. Uh, because probably General Counsel has been the most informed about what the ICE agent can and cannot do. And also, what does a warrant look like? A lot of times, schools will receive a warrant and not be 100% certain, you know, and they just
021want confirmation. From someone, and so they will call the Office of General Counsel, which has… there are many attorneys that are on call to assist the schools. Uh, to help them work through what their requirements are. Um, and then, so, um, our guest speaker, who provided public comment this evening, talked about the importance of training, and so… How… the… how I, uh, wrote this was in such a way that the superintendent designee shall ensure that staff receive professional development addressing the steps that are required. To take, uh, take ICE agents or other federal immigrations to… actually, required to take if ICE agents or other federal immigration authorities appear at the PGPS school. And the training should include the following. So, I wrote it that way because these are the things that must happen, but they
022can't happen unless they know… the staff know. What it is that must happen. So that's why the training really has to be the responsibility of. Of the superintendent as designee to make sure all schools are trained. Um, so the first part of it is, if you can scroll down, Cindy. Uh, to the areas, and this is sort of the meat of the, uh, of the law. Can you just go down a little bit further? There we go. There we go. So, first of all, if a immigration agent or ICE agent appears. The… what needs to happen is that the school would contact a designated PGPS official immediately and ask the IH… ICE agents to wait in the lobby or other public space. And then, if the ICE agent demands immediate access to private spaces in
023the school or facility without waiting for the school's communication with the designated PGPS official. Staff shall state that they do not consent to such access, but should not attempt to stop or impede the officer. As promptly as possible, the principal designee shall contact the designated official and make a record of the incident, including notes about the verbal exchange with ICE agents, identifying details about the ICE agent, the ICE agent's action, any arrests. Or other results of those actions, and the identity of other staff witnesses. So this is… I think this is a really important piece because. If, in fact, it happens that the ICE agent doesn't follow our rules and goes to the school or whatever. Or… and whatever those communications are, it's really important that there, uh, that we have the names of all
024the witnesses that were there, and everything that happened, the name, and all the information about the ICE agent. Um, for future reference for actions that we may be able to take, and also to protect our staff. That is an important piece, um, because there, as I said before, there are case… been cases now where people have actually been, um. Charged and arrested for, um, uh, uh, holding back ICE agents from doing what they want to do. So then if you scroll down further. It says, if no circumstances shall, um, shall staff, excuse me, in no circumstance shall staff interfere with ICE agents attempt to make them leave a public space, attempt to conceal any person from ICE, or attempt to assist any person in evading. Ice, and that language is there really to protect our
025staff. And I'm sure in many instances, they're going to want to do everything they possibly can to hold back an ICE agent. Then, the principal designee shall make and maintain records of all immigration enforcement activities at the PGMS school, including agent's name, badge, number of other. Or other official identifying information agency, purpose of visit, proposed action to be taken at the school. If an immigration officer requests access to private spaces within a PGPS school. To conduct enforcement activity that designated PHS official may authorize such access only if the officer asserts that exigent circumstances exist. Or possesses a valid judicial warrant. So all of this is being run by the principal, or as they say, the system principal, whoever, is going to be. Providing all this information to General Counsel, of which they will, first of
026all, assess what does… is there really an exigent circumstance, or looking at the warrant to find out, is it really a valid judicial warrant? Um, and, you know, checking all the details of it. And then, if the immigration officer presents a judicial warrant, the principal designee shall share a copy of it with the designated official to determine legitimacy, which I just said that a minute ago. Anyway, if you scroll down further. Uh, if the immigration officer proceeds to search a private space without exigent circumstances or judicial warrants, the principal designee shall notify. Designated PCPS officials state that the officer lacks permission, but make no efforts to assist. Or block the officer, which was also the same circumstance above, and then if you scroll down a little bit further. And that's it. And then the principal,
027uh, the superintendent. So, develop an administrative procedure to implement this policy, and then there can be even more detail placed in the. In the, um, in the Administrative Procedure to implement this policy. So the policy is. Very much, uh, in accordance with the law and what's being required right now. Um, and I know it's… when I… I have to honestly say my own personal pain, when I was reading through it initially, I was like, oh, wow, it's… we don't have too much recourse except to… follow those very specific rules, but um… But we have an obligation to protect. Also protect the staff that are working in our schools. Um, anyway, that's basically it as far as what's in the policy. Sorry, thank you so much, Mrs. Welsh, um, for that overview, and I will open
028the floor to questions, um. From my fellow board members, um… committee members… If you have a question, please raise your hand or verbally let me know. Um, let's see, Mr. Brakes, did I see your hand? Yes, Mr. Briggs. Yes, thank you so much, Vice Chair Olivo. So, um, I just want to say thank you so much, Mrs. Welsh, for the presentation. I feel like this is helpful, because I know that when. Initially, the new administration came in, and the AG, the state AG released guidelines on all of these things. It wasn't… codified, so I think this is a step in the direction of making sure that we have good processes in place. Um, I do want to just kind of, like, lift up again to your point, what Ms. Ms. Wilk shared about. How we
029communicate, because I think that's probably going to be the biggest barrier, right, is how do we communicate with the community when these things happen? And I know that there's probably so many restrictions on what the timing of when we communicate things, how we communicate those things. But I guess I would… I would love to dig a little deeper into this policy around. How we can support the community, and knowing that we are… that we're there with them, um, when these occurrences happen at a school. Um, what are some best practices? And I'd love to reach out to places like HASA or others that may have some suggestions around what best practices may be. Okay. Around communication, so I just wanted to give that additional comment to maybe make this even more comprehensive. Okay. Thank you,
030Mr. Briggs. Um, any other questions or comments from committee members? Okay, I do actually have, um, a couple questions and comments as well. And want to thank Mr. Briggs for raising this. I do… Um, I do feel that… And I appreciate Mrs. Welch that you emphasize that we can do more than the state law. Requires, but we can't do less. I do think that it is really important in this particular policy to do more. Um, I actually really appreciate, um, that CASA brought to my attention, um. A resolution that the superintendent, prior superintendent and board chair, um, signed, I believe in February, which was prior to me joining the board, um. But it's titled, A Resolution Reaffirming the Values of Prince George's County Public Schools and Confirming Its Status as a Safe Place for All
031Students. And really like to take a look at that, especially the, um, the Be It Resolved, the resolution clauses. Um, that I think do provide, um. A little bit more heft, um, to, um, to the… some of the items in this policy. Um, I also am very aware, as you said, this is of, you know, utmost urgency, and so I'm… really pleased we're taking it up at the very beginning of this committee year. Um, and so I actually would… I would appreciate your recommendation or thoughts from my fellow committee members, because I'm also pretty new to this committee. As far as, um, you know, does it make sense to request these additional edits and changes right now, or… Is this something that we should move forward out of committee, knowing that we have time and
032that we will continue to, um, look to partners such as CASA and our. Community members to, um, to strengthen the policy as it moves through the longer process. Yeah, why don't you start? That would be great. Thank you. You're asking me that question? Um… Oh, oh, okay. Um… No, so, um, I… first of all, I will definitely, um, both… both yours and Board Member John, um. Jonathan Briggs' recommendations, I will definitely, um, look at that and see what we can do to add… incorporate those types of things. Um, I definitely will, if we want to move it over to the next step at this meeting, so that the next meeting, we're looking at the next step, I just… the only thing I wanted to know is that I will be also. Having OGC review it,
033and they definitely might have ideas for it. And then, um, and plus any of the new additions, and I will also, of course, then send it to the superintendent, who might also have. His own ideas, but saying that, we can still then come back at that point in time and. Um, if everyone's in agreement, then as it is, then move it forward to go out to public comment. Um, because nothing stops us along the process to… to make any other revisions, so I think we can do that without, you know. Um, having… letting it sit in the discussion stage. And I think it's concerning because we don't have another policy meeting. I looked on the agenda… on the calendar until November, so that's a… That's almost a 2-month gap, so, you know, I feel like.
034It would be smart to move it to the next step. I… Thank you. I am also concerned about that length of time, um… Mr. Brazer, um, Ms. Brown, do you have any… any thoughts on this? And… and a… You know, recommendation for possibly the best way to move this forward to. Both strengthen, um, strengthen it, which I think, you know, we're hearing is really important to us as a board, but while also continuing to move the process forward? Or should we wait and put this again on the November agenda and look at that point to have a much stronger, you know, kind of first draft, if you will? Yeah, I have a… I guess I have an opinion here, and I appreciate you asking, um, and then would love to hear, um, Board Member Brown
035has anything, too. So, but, um, I would just say, I think that as we send it out to the community for public comment. I wonder if, right now, we have kind of, like, clear legal… guidelines, right? Like, these are the things that you have to do in order to follow federal, state laws. But I think that beyond that, I wonder if, and particularly just hearing some of the testimony today, like, there are these buckets, right? There's this communication piece. And I think, how do we have strong communication? I know that as a district, we've always kind of been challenged with that period. This is even more, I think, heightened, right? Because it really is, kind of, it could be… consequential in a lot of ways. I think safety is a big piece, so I think
036we'll have to mitigate navigating, like, what's the right time to communicate, to what level and degree, and I would love to collect… I mean, we got 80, almost 90 people on the… on this right now, which is… this is a very important issue. Um, and so I think that having some way to kind of, like, sift through the information. And the last thing I'll say is equity. I think, how do we do things in a way where we are honoring people's identity, um, being culturally responsive, and we can distinguish between those different things? And so I think that if we can maybe help the community in, like, saying, hey, this is where we need help when we send it out to public comment, that can move it forward. While getting really good information, um, from,
037you know, advocacy groups along with community members, et cetera, et cetera. Um, thank you, Mr. Briggs. I think those are excellent points. I also do, um… I do want to note, you know, as of right now, although we don't have a policy in place, we do have that February, um, resolution to lean back on, which has. As of right now, put the protocols in place for how the school system, um, how our employees need to handle. You know, any, um, interactions with, um, with immigration authorities, um. And so, while this is, I think, incredibly. Incredibly important, an incredibly important to move forward as rapidly as possible. Um, we do have that prior resolution in place, signed, you know, uh, passed. Um, and so, you know, perhaps it does make sense to really take the time
038to get… to get a really solid first draft, um, or I guess now second draft, out before we go out to the community. Um… Yeah. Can I just say one thing, too? You already know this, um, Board Member Olivo, but resolutions, as you already know, I'm sure, are aspirational, right? Like, they have no teeth, there's no enforcement mechanism there, so it's like, they just are saying, these are our values, this is what we care about. Mm-hmm. But it doesn't really protect anything, so I do think that you're right, like, getting this policy moving forward as soon as possible is gonna offer that enforcement, that protection, that accountability to the school district and to ICE agents and what to do, so… Um, I just want to say, I know if anyone was listening to that part
039about the resolution, I know you already know that, but just wanted to state that we get that it… Thank you. Thank you, I appreciate that. Um, any other questions or comments from committee members? Okay, so I think… I think we… we do need to take a vote about whether we, um, hold this in committee or move it forward. I think that it's very clear that, um. That there will be… if we do move it forward, there will be some pretty significant, um… work done on this language, but the idea would be if we do move it forward, that we would be moving it forward to continue in the process of additional revisions. Um, and so the question is, shall the committee recommend, um, this policy yet to be numbered? Immigration enforcement activity HB1222? To the
040policy sponsor for revision approval. Is there any discussion? This ad line… oh, I'm sorry. Did I see a hand? No. Yes, Ms. Brown? Yes, thank you. So, just in accordance with my role at Department of Homeland Security. Um, and to avoid any potential conflict of interest. I had to respectfully decline to cast my vote, um, and abstain. Thank you, Mrs. Brown. Ms. Edline, will you please take a roll call vote? Dr. Moss? Ms. Oliver? Yes? Mr. Briggs? We have two in the affirmative. Aye. Okay, so just to explain that… I'm sorry, Mrs. Welsh? Yeah. Yeah. Gonna say that I, um… I think you're probably gonna say the same thing I was just gonna say. I think that answers our question. We'll just have to keep it in discussion, so… Yeah, so, um, so just, just
041for the, for the public, um, the, this motion to move this policy forward failed, um. Primarily because of a lack of, um… that just didn't have enough votes per the quorum requirements for this committee. Um, and so… Um, we will absolutely bring this back, and we'll look to our community partners for additional input. On this language, um, over the next few weeks. So, thank you. Thank you very much. Our next, um… Let's see, our next item on the agenda is Policy 8103, Participation in Meetings Electronically. Um, I recognize Mrs. Welsh to provide an overview of Policy 8103, participation in meetings electronically. Okay, um, so I was last year that, um. Board Member Briggs… Briggs, uh, Board Member Moss requested that we consider the possibility of allowing, um, board members in certain circumstances that are unforeseen.
042Being able to utilize virtual, um. Means for participating in the executive sessions and permitting… committee meetings, um, business meetings, and work sessions. So, um, the purpose of this policy is to add language there that would allow for that, and it would be… Um, only for unforeseen, um, circumstances that would allow the board member to actually participate. Um, and… and all of the meetings virtually. Now, most of our committee meetings are virtual, but as far as the business meeting and the work session. That's where I think would be the biggest, um… the change, um, and, um, and so, basically, the language, it just says, uh, that I added in the standard under number 6, it says the board members may participate virtually in executive session meetings, business meetings, or work sessions, no more. Then 4 times
043in total during the fiscal year. Board, uh, staff shall use proper virtual methods in order to ensure confidentiality of the remote connection. And board members participating virtually will count towards the establishment of a quorum. And I did see, um, actually, I'll say one thing, I just saw this. I'm actually thinking maybe we should discuss what is considered an unforeseen circumstance, because I don't have that defined in this policy, and you might feel more comfortable if there was some language that actually defined unforeseen circumstance. I mean, of course, you don't know what an unforeseen circumstance might be, but there are. You know, circumstances that do occur, so I don't know. I can certainly add a definition to it. Thank you, Mrs. Welsh, um, for that overview. Um, I'll open the discussion up to questions. Mr. Briggs.
044Yeah, thank you so much, Chair Olivo. I want to say, um, Mrs. Walsh, I think that's a great… obviously, that's a great idea. The definition is going to be helpful, because it just always is good, but I do think, as much as possible, and I know you're already likely gonna do this, like, that it's not too restrictive, um, because I, you know, I don't want it to box. In the possibility of, like, if we say these are the bullet points for an unforeseen circumstance, and then perhaps someone has a situation that doesn't fall into that, um… And, you know, we have to, like, vote on it or something like that, so maybe if we can just be very broad language. Mm-hmm. Um, I just wanted to add that context. Thank you, Mr. Briggs. Are there
045any other questions or comments? Mrs. Brown? Thank you, um, Vice Chair Olivo. I, um, am actually… I'm hearing what, um… Vice Chair Briggs is saying, but I also do want it to be… in the middle, if we can kind of meet in the middle, um, because if we think about, for example. Uh, we don't want board members to feel obligated if. You know, they're on the birthing table, and they have to make, you know, it's like, you don't come on the meeting, you know, or if… They have to attend a funeral or things like that. I think we can name. Those type of circumstances, because I think that should take priority over. I have to show up to this meeting, I have to do this. And so. Um, I'm kind of on the fence as
046far as it being so broad, where… We're just gonna let anybody just… go right ahead and, you know, the whole year, they're just showing up virtually. Um, that won't be fair to other board members that actually do show up. I mean, we're only in the… In the office, what, once a month, or twice a month at most, and most of our meetings are virtual. Um, but yeah, I think we do need to be, uh, very mindful at the amount of times that even people can use. Um, to opt into the virtual, um, but we don't want to, in my opinion, I don't want it to be so broad. Um, that members just don't show up in person. Um, and so that's something I think we need to be mindful of. Thank you. Thank you, Board
047Member Brown. Mrs. Welsh? I did want to, um, in relation to, um, Board Member Brown's comment, I do want to say that the language I do have there, because of the very reason you were suggesting, is. The last thing we want is all the board members not to be at the board meeting, because they're all virtual. I mean, we did that during COVID, but… but it's very different than… it's… I think it's much better when everyone's in person, so I did say. No more than 4 times in total during the fiscal year, and that means for adding it all up for either executive session meetings, business meetings, or work sessions, so it's covering all those types of meetings. That way. Um, it does help to limit it a little bit. Thank you, Mrs. Welsh. Any
048other comments or questions from our committee members? Okay. Um… Let's see… sorry. Um… The question is, shall the committee recommend Policy 8103, participation in meetings electronically, to the policy sponsor for revision approval? Any discussion? Ms. Adlein, please take roll call. You're muted. Miss Oliver? Mr. Briggs? Yes? Aye. Mrs. Brown? That's really affirmative. Okay, and so that motion passes, correct? Yes. Terrific. Okay. We are on to policy 8625, Evaluating the Superintendent of Schools. The chair recognizes Mrs. Welsh to provide an overview. Of Policy 8265, Evaluating the Superintendent of Schools. So, um, this policy came back up. The committee and the board actually voted on this policy and made revisions to it. Last year, um, and then, um… I'm going to say it was enacted in February of this past 2025. Betsy, the reason this has changed…
049came up again was because of. And we'll be talking about that a few minutes over in the actual, um, in the part… on the other policies. But it had to do with Policy 8100, which talks about the different committees. And we added there an ad hoc committee to evaluate the policy… to evaluate… to come up with the evaluation for the superintendent, as well as for the evaluation of the Board of Education. So, the only real changes in this language is to say, if you, as in under the standards section, and I don't know, Cindy, if you're able to pull it up or not. Um, but it says that the annually, prior to the beginning of the school year, the superintendent. And the superintendent Evaluation Committee shall meet to… Oh, thanks. Okay, if you go, uh,
050keep going a little bit further. I'll keep going, right there, uh, right there. This is not… that is not the right, uh, version. Oh, wait. Oh, yes, it is. It just doesn't show it underlined. Okay, well, that's fine. Anyway, annually, or prior to the beginning of the school year, this is new language, the superintendent and the superintendent's Evaluation Committee shall meet to agree. On the, um, on the format and the evaluation instrument, and the annual performance goals for the superintendent's annual evaluation. And then the board shall approve the evaluation instrument at the August board meeting, and then the superintendent shall develop a plan of action. To support goal achievement and presented the plan to the board, uh. By September 15th. Um, and the plan should include an annual timeline for goal attainment based upon indicators
051of annual progress. So that's that… the piece that has to do with the actual committee, and then the approval of the evaluation instrument at the August board meeting, and, um, and then presenting the plan to the board by September 15th as Superintendent would. That's all new language there. I don't know why… Didn't show up as tracked, but it isn't my version. But anyway, that is new to the policy. Great, thank you so much, Mrs. Welsh. Um, questions or comments from the committee members? Mr. Briggs, Board Member Briggs. Vice Chair Briggs. Yeah, sorry, I'm only bringing this up because, um, I'm on the Superintendent Evaluation Committee, and, um, this is not official, so I just want to say that for the record. Um, but there was a request for a new evaluation. Plan to be developed
052for the evaluation committee, um, to work kind of through the different. Evaluation metrics. Um, and I'm just thinking, if we did go down that path, this. Policy would be moot. Is that correct, Ms. Mrs. Walsh, or is this, like, regardless, it is Evergreen? It's… Not specifically to… Um, the current plan we have in place, it is… Just in general, when we have a plan. Well, I guess it depends on what you put in the plan. I mean, right now… right now, the school board is, uh, being… They have to follow what they have in policy. If, in fact, they don't want… they don't want to do that, then there is a whole process to rescind a policy. So, um, that… so… so if… you can certainly, uh, come up with a plan for evaluation that
053could still probably align with this. Policy, because the policy itself is not print… is not that, um… uh, specific, except for more in terms of timelines and what has to be. What has to be presented at different times and stuff, and when the evaluation has to occur, and making goals and stuff. But maybe you're talking about something more diff… more… I don't know, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Yeah, I realize… Yeah, I realized I didn't give good context. Um, so what I meant was, like, if we actually went through the process of re-establishing a new plan for the superintendent, let's say that we hypothetically said. What we have right now is outdated because it was an old board that developed that plan. So we want to first get a new approved plan by
054the board that are the evaluation metrics. I know we have that contract, so a lot of that's tied to the contract that is locked in for 4 years. But I'm not sure how that changes with the interim. And then if that were to happen, then that would throw off a lot of those timelines that you have there, because… then we would have to still get the metrics together and have an evaluation, but we wouldn't meet that, I think, August or September. Um… yeah. Oh, the deadline… the deadline for it. Well, the metrics themselves are certainly… that's… that is… I mean, this doesn't go in any detail related to the metrics. So the evaluation committee can, you know, do anything they want in that regard, but you're saying to try to get it done within that
055time plan… time period is not going to be… Um, uh… helpful, but… and actually, quite honestly. Because the committee started later, well, remember this, this language is actually… hasn't been approved yet. So the actual language about the committee. And the, uh, having it by the August meeting, and then presenting the plan to the board by September 15th meeting. So, right now, the way the language reads in the policy, there are no timelines. So, you actually are okay to continue on your work and do what you need to do, and then by next year. You would be… you would just be able to move it… that timeline up so that you could have it done. For that. Got it. Right. Um, Board Member Briggs, if you had an additional comment to that, please go ahead. Okay,
056thank you. I was just gonna say, like, I think also just, you know, contingency planning here, and I'm not sure what Cindy thinks, because obviously she was, at one point, the policy and governance guru, but if we did do a adjustment to the policy, then should we have some language in there that's, like, these kind of unforeseen circumstances, right? A new superintendent that comes in, he's here for a year. Um, and whatever else it may be, there's just things that… should we have, kind of, language in there to… consider, or is that unnecessary? So it's more of a question to, I think, both, um, you, Ms. Welsh, and, um, Cindy on this. Ms. Landbein? Um, I would go back to what Ms. Welsh. Just shared. In terms of the current policy, we don't really have
057a timeline or a structure. And because this one has not yet been adopted, we have to follow the old one. So whatever language we want to cover in this new one, we have to do it now, before it gets adopted. Because right now, we still have to follow the old one, as this one is not implemented or adopted as yet. It's still in the… beginning processes. You with me? Yeah, I was just saying, like, I guess the question was, like, should we have a contingency plan in this policy? For, like, unforeseen, like, how do we go through those if a superintendent is. Parts ways with the board, um, and then it throws off the… or the evaluation is happening, and it's an interim, and, you know, whatever else it may be. I'm just curious if
058we should add that into this to make it more comprehensive. Okay, so I think that part is more a committee decision, so you guys can decide here if you want to add that in. Thank you, Mr. Briggs. I think that's actually, um… an excellent point, and I wonder if there would be, um… A way to consider language along the lines of, um… you know, should the super… a superintendent. You know, depart prior to the end of their contract, should an interim superintendent be appointed? In the middle of a school year, you know, something like that, to then say the timeline may be adjusted as appropriate. As deemed appropriate by the majority of the board, or, you know, or the majority of the committee, or, you know, something along those lines, um… Because, you know, in
059this case, let's say that this… these dates had been in place, right, and Dr. Joseph comes in. As interim at the very end of June, and then we're saying we have to have his evaluation completed, you know, I mean, that just… wouldn't make sense. Um… So maybe there is kind of a caveat like that in it. We can certainly add that language. Great, thank you. Any other comments or questions from committee members? Okay, the question is, shall the committee recommend Policy 8265, evaluating the superintendent of schools to the policy sponsor for revision approval? Um, any discussion? Ms. Adlein, please take a roll call vote. Miss Oliver? Mr. Briggs? Aye? Mrs. Brown? We have 3 in the affirmative. Motion passes. Thank you. Um, Policy 8265, evaluating the Superintendent of schools will be recommended to the policy
060sponsor for revision approval. Okay, we are now at, um… 8.0 Policies for Second Consideration, or public comment. Um, there are 13 items for consideration. Um, please note the committee will be addressing policies 3323 and 8100 separately. Um… should I read all of these? Policy names, all the policy titles. Okay. Um… 8.1 committee work plan, um, SY 2025-2026. 8.2, um, unnumbered policy, employee use of social media, and personal electronic devices. 8.3 Policy 3000. Um, business. 8.5. 9354, board members vouchard Reimbursement of Expenses. 8… I'm sorry, 8.6, policy 5110, home and hospital teaching. Policy… I'm sorry, 8.8. And these next ones, I will note, are rescissions, um, policies that are being rescinded. Rescission policy… 1114 newspaper advertising. Rescission policy 1116 information packet. Rescission policy 2483.1. Notification of Board of Education policies. Rescission of Policy 5110.4, Sibling Enrollment.
061Rescission policy 8350, numbering and Indexing of Board Actions. And rescission of policy 9140 Citizen Advisory Committees. The question is, shall the committee release the policies under Agenda Items 8.1 through 8.3? 8.5 and 8.6. And 8.8 through 8.14 for public input. Any discussion? Ms. Edline, please take a roll call vote. Mrs. Oliver? Mr. Briggs? Aye. Mrs. Brown? They're in the affirmative. Motion passes. Thank you. The policies under agenda Items 8.1 through 8.3, 8.5, and 8.6. An 8.8 through 814 will be released for public input. Um, for all of our residents on the call this evening, that means that they will be put out, and this is your opportunity, um, to submit your public comments on these, and we hope that you will do so. Okay, now we are on to the two policies that we indicated
062we would handle separately. Policy 3323 Purchasing. Um, the chair recognizes Mrs. Welsh to provide an overview of Policy 3323 purchasing. Okay, thank you. So, um, we've spent a long time on 3323. Uh, but this year and last year, and we're almost near the end to be able to send it out for public comment, but in the process, it went through one more review by Office of General Counsel, and in that review. The question had come up over the fact that. If you look at Education Article 3-1004, there's a provision in there that talks about the fact that the board chair should. Sign off on contracts that have been approved by the board. And that language, though, is situated in… it came through House Bill 1097 in 2023, and that language is situated in a whole
063section about board conduct and board professional development, and I think. Part of it was specific to. Um, basically making some changes in what the process and everything related to the Board of Education. And everyone I've spoken with, even the general counsel, feels that probably the board… the, um, the, uh, legislature was think… when this bill was going through, was thinking. We don't want the chair of the board signing on contracts that the board hasn't seen or hasn't approved that you should have approval by a quorum of the board members. If the chair is gonna sign off on a contract. Well, and so… but it does not designate. If you think about all the contracts the school system deals with, hundreds of contracts. And in previous meetings, we've had a purchasing and the chief of budget
064management. Here, and they went through great detail to point out all the different types of contracts we have, and the amounts of money for each of them and everything. So if you think about those, then, um, those are laid out specifically, uh, if it comes at or above the threshold, the board does approve. Those, uh, contracts before they can move forward with the superintendent or the superintendent's designee signing off on the contracts. Because that… going over that meeting or going over the threshold requires board approval. However, there… there has never been that… we also then turn around after the superintendent signs, and it gets sent back to the chair. To also sign, um, and… and the reason being is because there's also a provision in the law, Education Article 4-205, that lays out all the
065responsibilities of a superintendent in the state of Maryland. And it says there, very specifically, that the board is not… that the superintendent is responsible for ultimately signing off and approving all the contracts that move forward. So we sort of have a contradiction in the law at this point in time, and we did go and look at the policy and fiscal notes that is attached to every bill that comes through. And there was nothing… nothing there to give any type of clarification at all to try to get a better sense of what might have been the intent of the legislature when they moved this bill forward. Um, and so, at this point, there is language that has been added to this policy at the very end that talks about that once it has been gone through
066the approval process for any of those contracts that reach or go above the threshold, and. Require board approval, that then it also has to go, in addition to the superintendent or designee signing off, it must go to the board chair. To sign off. I will, um, share with you that administration is very concerned about having one more step to the process, and mainly because. Of the fact that already they are seeing, um, the process slow down. First of all, the board only meets once a month. So, contracts are coming and going all the time, and so that means that now there's contracts sitting, waiting for approval. And the biggest concern is what they're contracting for, whether it's services or goods. Can impact the operation of the school system, either at the individual schools themselves, or
067things like whether it's construction or, you know, facilities or transportation. Those types of things, which can have some very negative. Impacts. So, uh, in sharing all this with, um. Dr. Moss, the chair of this committee, his… he asked the question, why hasn't it gone to the attorney. General to at least get an interpretation from the Attorney General on… on is there really a contradiction in the law, and how… how… how… how do they read these two laws together? Um, and I know we sort of left it at this is… that we'd bring it up at this meeting, and then the… and also because Board Council was here. That he could also provide input, and then, um, from there, make a decision if this is something that we also want to, um. Move forward to the
068Attorney General. Thank you, Mrs. Welsh. Um, Mr. Horne, I would welcome your thoughts and opinion on this matter. Yeah, good afternoon, Ms. Oliva. Yes, uh, I had an opportunity to speak with Ms. Welsh earlier today. I looked at the, uh, statues that she's referencing, and. Agree that there's a little conflict, so… You know, we would be… best served if we get the Attorney General's opinion as to. What they mean by these statues, and in fact, are they… do they view them as common? Netflix, or in fact, can they… I'll be read together. But, uh, it certainly would be best if the Attorney General would make that determination. Okay, thank you. Thank you for that. Um… Um, Mr. Board Member Briggs or Brown, do you have any, um… Comments or questions for discussion? Please, thank you,
069sorry. Yes, in South America. I think it's probably just gonna be a yes every time. But, um, I just want to say, I definitely agree that I think it is… I had deep concerns about holding up the process with these contracts, because I know that, like you said, there are so many of them. That we have to look through, and I'm not sure if it's helpful. I mean, there's ways to kind of manage the system. And have accountability structures in place, and I wonder if we can think more creatively. Than just having something that's, like, the board has to look through, you know, 100 different contracts. I just don't think it's realistic. Um, and I also have concerns about the impact on the system. So, I mean, I like the idea of reaching out to
070the Attorney General for more information. Um, I know also we've talked about how this process has been elongated for a number of different reasons. Um, so, you know, I know, I guess at some point, we'll have to make a decision, too, about. What we want to do, but, um, I just wanted to kind of give that… that I do have that concern. I mentioned that concern initially when we were talking about this policy. Thank you, um, Vice Chair Briggs. Great, so, um… question for Ms. Adlein. Can I change the motion from the question of releasing this to the question of requesting an Attorney General's, um. Opinion on this matter? Or would we just hold it here? Or vote no on releasing. So, we'd have to vote and let it… fail, and then put the new
071motion on the floor. Great, thank you. Okay, the question is, shall the committee release Policy 3323, Purchasing for Public Input? Any discussion? Ms. Advine, please take a roll call vote. Miss Oliver? Mr. Briggs? No? Mrs. Brown? 3 in the negative motion fails. No. Thank you. Um… I would… can I make the motion? Okay. I would like to move that, um. Yeah. The board submits policy 3323 Purchasing. Um, specifically the question of the board chair needing to sign all school contracts. To the Attorney General for, um… an official opinion on… on this law. Is there any discussion? Ms. Adlebein, will you please take a roll call vote? Oliver? Oh, I'm sorry, I apologize. Mrs. Walsh? I think Mrs. Walsh had her hand up before… Oh, you're on mute. Um, I don't mean to interrupt your vote.
072I meant… I was just gonna share, though, that if we're gonna move forward, if the vote does pass, then. I think in the past, and I think… Mr. Horne can help us with this. I think it was… it requires the board president or chair to go ahead and request. If I remember correctly, that, um… request the Attorney General's opinion. Is that correct? Correct. Correct. Well… sought, uh… A elected official to do it, because I don't think they considered the board. Eligible to seek an Attorney General opinion, so when that's happened in the past. Board, uh, chair has sought their opinion from. I sought the help of. A state senator to ask on their behalf. And so that would… if that's the motion you're making. That would be understood, because the chairman couldn't do it. He
073would be able to seek. A member of the state. Senate to be able to do it on behalf of the board. Terrific. Mr. Horns, you don't think the motion needs to be… revised. We could move forward with the… okay, thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Walsh, for raising that. I appreciate it. Okay, Ms. Adlein? Mrs. Oliver? Mr. Briggs? Aye? Mrs. Brown? During the affirmative, motion passes. Aye. Thank you very much. Okay, our final policy for the evening is Policy 8100, Board of Education Standing Committees and Focused Workgroups. Um, Mrs. Welsh? Turn to you to provide an overview. So this is a, um, policy that we spoke about at the August meeting, and we had some lengthy conversations about, um, a couple things. One was. Instead of making the, um, superintendent's evaluation committee and the Board of
074Ed's evaluation committee. A standing committee, that we would make them a, um, ad hoc committee. Because it's not necessary that they're meeting, like, all year long, because it's really about meeting until you get your job done, so… I did make those changes, and then there was a recommendation about adding a committee to all the standing committees, either a parent or community member. To sit on the committee, they would be non-voting members, but they would have the opportunity to participate in the meeting. So I did add language for that, and I felt like it was really important that before this… this goes out to public comment, that you all had the opportunity to review that language to ensure. That… because we didn't go into much of the details at that point in time, we just sort
075of… the recommendation came out, and… It was sort of left there, and I felt like I… it definitely… since these are your standing committees, it's really important that, you know, you're in agreement with the language that I've added related to. A parent or community member, you know, being a part of them. So, Cindy, if you can put the policy up, and we can move to, like, page 3, I can, um… That's… those are really the biggest, uh, changes. And if you can scroll down to page 3, please. And so, can you… I'm sorry, go back up for one second. So, some of these are really, uh. Scroll up just a little bit further. So, I did, uh, clarify, uh, because we also talked about advisory committees also, so I put a definition in for ad
076hoc committee, which is a temporary committee that investigates, analyzes, and makes recommendations on a single issue. When the committee finishes its work and makes a recommendation, it dissolves itself. And then the advisory committee, a committee which consists of members of the community that. And then if you scroll down, Cindy, to the next page, please. That studies matters of public concern and makes recommendations on the matter. And then, for the standing committee, and the definition of that, I… where it says, um. We have board members assembled. It also includes one parent community member. So then, if we scroll down. Um, and I just see… I have a typo here. I wrote that number 5 really needs… my copies, that's the oddest thing. It shows 5 is crossed out, and 4 is there, but for some reason.
077What you have, Cindy just shows 4, then 5. So if we need to cross out that 4. That 5 and put in for. But anyway, then we go down further. And, uh, continue. Um, and we get to the parent community member. So it says, each standing committee shall have one non-voting parent or community member of the parent or community member. Does not count towards the standing committee's quorum. The role of the parent or community member will consist of, and this is where I think it's important, um. To get your feedback is representing the interests of the… of a diverse student population, offering feedback on what the community values most, insisting on clear, accessible information so that the community can understand the subject matter. And decisions and or recommendations of each standing committee, asking critical questions
078about information that is shared and decisions and or recommendations that are made, and number five, encouraging parents and community members to get involved and speak up on important issues. Uh, and then I have the board office will publish a public call for applications from parents and community members to serve on one of the board's standing committees. The application may ask for information such as, and if you'll scroll down, Cindy, to the next page. Um, name and contact information, background, skills, relevant experience, identification of the committee on which the individual is interested in serving. And a statement of interest, or brief explanation of why the parent or community member wants to serve and what they can contribute. And then it says, each standing committee will review the application and determine who should be appointed as the
079parent community member representative. The nominated individual shall be presented to the board for discussion, and a formal vote approval. And then I did put here, I didn't know how long you would want them to serve just for each year, and this is a process you go through each year, and putting the person in… putting a parent or a community member in on the… on each of the committees or not. I… so I left that open that we… I can add in. And then parent or community… the parent or community member pointed to a standing committee. Should not have any financial ties to Prince George's County Public Schools. So, and then let me continue, and we'll continue, and then we can come back to that, because I did add some language about the evaluation committees. So
080then if you scroll down, Cindy. I'm gonna keep going. You should get to… because all this is all old language, continue further. Keep going down. And keep going. Keep going. We're almost there. And that's on it, keep going. We have the focus work groups, and then… keep going. And now we have, uh, these are… so we have language about advisory committees in general. So that… this says the advisory committees established by the board may include but are not limited to at least one citizen's Advisory Committee to provide community advice and assistance on problems, policies of the board, and any element of school… of the school system. The Citizens Advisory Committee should include parents, teachers, students, and other citizens as members. At least one special education issues advisory committee to provide advice on the implementation of
081board. Policies, accessibility of facilities, and employment and hiring issues, and then similar advisory committees. Can be established for any individual school or a group of schools within a region. Each advisory committee shall be appointed for a specific purpose, and each specific appointment shall be for a specified period. And subject to a written acceptance of the appointee, and then you get to your ad hoc committees. So then, um, each ad hoc committee should consist of 5 board members who come together to address specific, uh, specific issue, task, or problem. So then if you scroll down further. Cindy, you can get to, um… you have the superintendency Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee. And that committee's charged with developing the format, evaluation instrument, and annual performance goals for the superintendent's annual evaluation and consultation with the superintendent. Prior to
082the beginning of the school year, the committee shall present the evaluation instrument, and again, Board Member Briggs, there's no time… there's no actual date here. Um, this… I mean, this language hasn't been approved, so the current policy right now is actually an approval and not this. So it wouldn't impact your concern, I think, about your timeline right now. Anyway, um, see, um, then the committee shall present the evaluation instrument and the superintendent's annual performance goals to the board for approval at the August board meeting. And then upon receipt of the superintendent's plan of action to support, um, now that one is a timeline, but then the plan of action to support goal achievement, the committee, we shall review the plan and provide feedback. The plan shall be presented to the board by September 15th for
083approval. So that, again, I was having a question there as in terms of your timeline, too. I didn't know. What you wanted there, and of course, if you are all working on that right now, to come up with timelines, and this is still going through the process, which will be going through for the next couple months, we can always go back in and change this. And then it says, the committee shall meet as often as necessary after the finalization of the evaluation instrument goals and superintendent's plan of action. And conduct a preliminary evaluation of the superintendent and present it to the board at the June's Executive Board meeting, in which the board will utilize the committee's preliminary evaluation to formally evaluate in writing the performance of the superintendent. Um, so that way, because I do
084recall previously when we were working on the superintendent's evaluation policy, that at that point, everyone on the committee was definitely. A desire to be, um, having the opportunity to participate in the actual evaluation process, not just the committee, so that's why I put that in there. And then we have the board evaluation ad hoc committee. And again, that… the board will set annual performance goals for itself during a professional retreat at the beginning of the school year. The board's Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee will develop a board self-evaluation instrument based on the board's annual performance goals developed at the professional retreat by the board, and. By the way, um, the, um, the, uh, when 1079 was passed, there was language also in that, uh, that, um, bill that talked about the fact that the board should
085be, uh, developing goals for themselves. Professional goals for, uh, performance goals for the year. And then, uh, number 3, the committee will present the self-evaluation instrument to the board for approval no later than the September board meeting, and then utilizing the committee's self-evaluation instrument. The board will conduct a self-evaluation annually at the end of each school year at the professional retreat. And post the results of the self-evaluation on its website within 30 days of the last day of the retreat, and I'm pretty sure I pulled that right out of the, um, of 3-1004. As one of the requirements. So those… those were the major changes, and I thought it was important that you had the opportunity to see them before we moved down the road to, uh, public comment. Thank you so much, Mrs. Welsh.
086Um… Are there any comments or questions from committee members? Mr. Briggs. Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Board Member Brown. I think Miss… I think Boardman Browner. Oh, thank you so much. Just real quick, um, the question is for Robin Welsh. Did we look to see if anything was duplicative? Because with the standing committees? Because I feel like a lot of the… Um, things that you mentioned as far as, like, disability and, you know, parent involvement when it came to that. Like, we already have. Groups and supportive groups who do that, which are parents who are definitely very active. And I wasn't sure if PCAC. Had, um, like, subcommittees within their advisory group. Who can assist in that? So I was curious if you saw anything that may be duplicative, because we don't want to reinvent. A
087wheel if it's already turning. Thank you. So when you say duplicative with what? What's the… where do you think it might be showing up? You, you meant, yeah, you mentioned, um, a standing committee for special education, but we have DIAB. Which is the Disability Issues Advisory Board, as well as CCAT. Um, and so that's where my question. Oh. Came from, because we started talking about standing committees. So, again, I don't want it to be duplicative. If there's already work being done by parents. In advisory boards within the board. That's… that's… that was my only concern. So, no, so that's a good question. So, no, what that policy… what the policy we just went over is basically saying. Is that the board, these are advisory committees, and the board can have these committees. So it's not
088giving any… it's not saying we're gonna add any more committees to anything, we're merely… it's just sort of… basically substantiating the fact that the board absolutely has a right to have advisory committees, they can have the PCAC, they can have the Special Ed Disabilities Advisory Committee, um, you know, that's. That we're not asking for them to add more committees, we're just saying these are allowed. Um, and that's all it's saying. It's not… that's not… because we actually have a specific. Policy addresses Peacock, and we also have a specific. A policy that addresses the advisory committee. So, this is not meant to replace that or anything more to it. Okay, yeah, thank you, because this was also in reference to… Um, I know Dr. Moss, at the last meeting, had mentioned having a parent. Be possibly,
089um, like, a member, not necessarily a voting member, but an advisory member on P&G. And so that's the reason why. Thank you, Board Member Brown. Board Member Briggs? Thank you so much, um, Vice Chair Olivo. So, um, Mrs. Welsh, I guess my concern… I want to, I guess, make a statement, but… Um, so, I guess my concern is, like. The additional details here, because part of it is, I feel like the problem we're trying to solve is, like, one of inclusion and representation. But I have concerns about, like, one, one person from each of these different advisory councils being on a committee to just kind of, like, represent a large group when we have these advisory councils already that exist where we could get multiple opinions. I think, too, they can't vote, so that's the
090other piece. So it's like, they're there just to tell us things. Three, I have concerns about, like, access to information. So, like, what if there are missing. Pieces that they just can't have access to because they're not an actual. Board member, and would that impact their ability to actually influence the decisions that we make? Like, I guess I'm thinking, like. Is it well thought out enough where it's like, are we really bringing them in to do what we ultimately want to do, which is, like, make… have representation and inclusion, or is this performative? Because if they can't vote, if they may have times where they just can't actually have access to certain information, so they can't make informed decisions about the discussion. Or they aren't a part of certain meetings, right? We have all these
091things that happen. I'm wondering if there's some way we can address the big goal while considering the barriers that might exist for. The realities of the barriers that might exist for these individuals if they were actually on the committee. So, because the committees do… I mean, all our committees are… the standing committees are driven. Have to follow Open's Meeting Act. Uh, everything really has to be transparent, so I don't know that there's anything that's confidential that's actually shared in any of these meetings, because we have to be able to… I mean. And you can't have meetings behind meetings because, again, that's a violation of the Open Meetings Act, so everything has to be up front and to the public. So, that would not be a concern. I do understand your concern related to. Um, is
092it… so are you… how do you really get, uh, an opinion that's… represents diversity in the system and across the system? Especially a system like ours that's so diverse, you know, and has a wide variety of interests. Um, with just one person sitting on a standing committee that they can't… they can't vote anyway. I mean, they can talk, but they can't vote. So it wasn't… it was a recommendation, and certainly as a committee, you all have to make a final decision. I just was following up on what the recommendation was from the last meeting. Um, you do have some avenues, um, that are in place, and one is, of course, public comment period, because with a policy, as well as people can come to any of the policy meetings and provide public comment. Um, I
093do know, like, just like tonight, if it's a policy that really inspires a lot of, you know. Interest in the community, we do get some people that come for public comment. Where I think we fall down is that we don't get that much public comment when it's out for its public comment, period. And I don't know, and that's where you would probably get more diversity in your thing, because anyone can then give their opinions about the policies. So, I mean, it could also be something, instead of having a member, you could always look at ways to try to. Get more public comment. So I don't know, I mean, you bring up a good point, but it's really all the committee's decision how they want to go in terms of your concern. Yeah, I wanted to
094just hear… sorry, I know we were over on time, so I just wanted to say, I just wanted to hear your perspective on it, because I know I threw that at you, but I was… I guess I was thinking, if I were doing it… from my opinion, the way I would want to do it is, like, I would actually want to know. What actually exists out there that, like, is something similar to what we're trying to achieve. So if there are other places that are doing something similar to this, what models already exist, and is this the only way that we could do it? Because if we had, like, a way to kind of look across. A landscape and say, oh, there's this way, there's that way, then we could really figure out what works
095best for our approach and our system. And I'm wondering if this is… I mean, I think it's helpful, but I just wonder how helpful it really would be. Um, and I know you're just, obviously, just, like, reporting back out, but I guess that would be the request, is, like, if there's some way to kind of get. Additional insights on, like, the problem we're trying to solve, and what other ways might exist. I could certainly do some research on what other counties are doing. That might be best. Um, I know, I know, like, from Calvert County, that they actually keep their public comment period open for an entire month. Because they… because they feel that two weeks is too quick… too fast, and, you know, people are busy lives, and they're… they intend to sometimes comment,
096but they don't… get around to it, and if it was a longer period that they had the opportunity to comment, that might be better. And that's just their thinking. But I could certainly check the other counties and just see what other possible ways it could be that you could. Um, get… because I do think… I will say this, I do think we do have a problem in getting public comment. A lot of times related to the policies. We don't, you know, people just don't respond. I mean, even at Peacock, I always share with them. Every policy that's out for public comment are policies that are coming up for public comment, and policies that are coming up new. So that we're going to be discussing that they can just come to the meeting and talk about.
097And we still don't get very much, you know, public comment. So, I mean, so… but I can certainly check and just see how other systems are handling it in the state. Thank you. Um, any other comments or questions from the committee members? Okay, so I think if we wanted to have, um, further discussion on this after Mrs. Walsh's, um, additional research into perhaps how some other counties handle this, we probably… we would need to vote down this question. Is that correct? So, um… just sharing that. Um, the question is, shall the committee release Policy 8100 Board of Education Standing Committees and Focus Workgroups for public input? Any discussion? Ms. Edline, please take a roll call vote. Is this Oliver? Mr. Briggs? No? Mrs. Brown? 3 in a negative motion fails. No. Okay, um, so I
098think we will add this back on to the November agenda, then. Let's see, we have no, uh, policies for third consideration. And, um, so we are ready to adjourn. Um, I'd like to inform the public that the next virtual policy and governance committee meeting will be on November 11th, 2025. Which I do realize is a federal holiday, but it is a day that PGCPS is open and operating. Uh, please continue to check the Prince George's County Board of Education website for meeting information and updates. Thank you all for the great discussion and attendance. I'm really grateful to our viewers for watching, and really look forward to your input on the policies discussed, um. Today, there being no further business, the time is now 6.31. The September 16th, 2025 Policy and Governance Committee meeting is adjourned.
099Thank you so much