Board of Education members spent two hours Tuesday discussing how better to handle, and prevent, hate-bias incidents.
So far this school year, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) received almost three reports of hate-bias incidents every day. As of March 6, there were 337 incidents reported, of which 60% were racial, 30% were religious and 10% involved the LGBTQ community.
While stating these statics, school administrators stressed that many bias incidents go unreported.
In November of 2023, MCPS established a cross-office committee to deal with this issue. Also, a grant-funded coordinator was hired for two years to focus on handling hate bias incidents.
Board President Karla Silvestre said it was important to get across the message that no matter what students hear outside of school or at home, “When you are in this building, you will respect your classmates. You will respect your elders.”
Plans involve three pillars. The first pillar deals with prevention through education. The second deals with reporting and communicating, and the last involves response.
MCPS intends to conduct learning sessions for its staff, which at first will not be mandatory. During the summer, administrators will work out a system so these sessions will become mandatory.
Some of the board’s discussion revolved around determining levels of hate bias. Sometimes a student says things without understanding or intending to hurt a fellow student. Other times, the act is motivated by hate, is disruptive or involves property damage or violence.
By determining levels, MCPS will sometimes just speak with a student. Other times detentions, suspensions or police involvement will be required.
The district also is reevaluating when a letter is sent to the school community following an incident and how timely that letter must be sent out.
MCPS also intends to establish clear guidelines on how to deal with staff’s social media posts and school walkouts.
The goal of all this is to ensure “all students are seen and heard” and feel valued, said Stephanie Sheron, chief of strategic initiatives at MCPS. “Our goal is to have an inclusive environment.”
Even if the offender didn’t intend to hurt a classmate, “There was still harm done to the child,” she said.
Board Member Rebecca Smondrowski urged administrators to hold students accountable and let the student victim know what is happening.
Board Member Grace Rivera-Oven urged administrators to ensure that teachers themselves feel safe and not victimized. “You cannot help young kids if you are broken,” she said.
