Bullied Northwest HS student murdered; mother got no help from BOE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's why it's a BOE issue. Some students have mental health issues. Some have developmental issues. The mother indicated that her son had some sort of issue that led her to believe he was vulnerable in the general population. If MCPS can't handle a child's issues, they send them to private school where there is staff trained to help the student do well. That costs alot of money. So MCPS tried very very hard to push back at parents who seek help for their kids.
From the sounds of it, that young man had such an issue and his mom knew and sought help to get him out of the general population because she knew he couldn't do well there. Mcps said tough luck. Now he's dead. Another student murdered him.
Not too hard to understand that mcps failed this family.

I agree it's tragic but I don't believe the county is responsible. In the US we don't even have public healthcare let alone mental healthcare.

NP here. No we don't have public healthcare, but we do have section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1975. I couldn't say for sure but there's a possibility MCPS was not in compliance.

+1 When is MCPS ever fully compliant? They failed to protect this student. A COSA could have saved his life. MCPS ignores bullying and in this case it cost a student his life.

[Anonymous]

How many times does MCPS say that bullying is not a problem when bullying is reported? That’s why schools are unsafe and bullying is allowed by school administrators to continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's why it's a BOE issue. Some students have mental health issues. Some have developmental issues. The mother indicated that her son had some sort of issue that led her to believe he was vulnerable in the general population. If MCPS can't handle a child's issues, they send them to private school where there is staff trained to help the student do well. That costs alot of money. So MCPS tried very very hard to push back at parents who seek help for their kids.
From the sounds of it, that young man had such an issue and his mom knew and sought help to get him out of the general population because she knew he couldn't do well there. Mcps said tough luck. Now he's dead. Another student murdered him.
Not too hard to understand that mcps failed this family.

I agree it's tragic but I don't believe the county is responsible. In the US we don't even have public healthcare let alone mental healthcare.

NP here. No we don't have public healthcare, but we do have section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1975. I couldn't say for sure but there's a possibility MCPS was not in compliance.

When exactly did bullying become a disability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's why it's a BOE issue. Some students have mental health issues. Some have developmental issues. The mother indicated that her son had some sort of issue that led her to believe he was vulnerable in the general population. If MCPS can't handle a child's issues, they send them to private school where there is staff trained to help the student do well. That costs alot of money. So MCPS tried very very hard to push back at parents who seek help for their kids.
From the sounds of it, that young man had such an issue and his mom knew and sought help to get him out of the general population because she knew he couldn't do well there. Mcps said tough luck. Now he's dead. Another student murdered him.
Not too hard to understand that mcps failed this family.

I agree it's tragic but I don't believe the county is responsible. In the US we don't even have public healthcare let alone mental healthcare.

NP here. No we don't have public healthcare, but we do have section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1975. I couldn't say for sure but there's a possibility MCPS was not in compliance.

When exactly did bullying become a disability?

Bullying can lead to depression and anxiety which can be classified as mental health impairments. Bullying creates a hostile environment in a school that denies students equal opportunities for learning. When bullying is reported but ignored by a school, students and parents have a right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/kolbiereports/status/1486141379571032065?s=21

Watch the interview.. really upsetting.

It's tragic but I'm pretty sure this is not the kind of thing the board of education handles. It seems like you just want to use this family's tragedy for your own political agenda.

You are either wrong or intentionally lying. The Board of Education takes up student transfers and placements at every meeting. They do it in closed session so no one can watch them continually deny parent requests. Parents are never allowed to speak or attend these hearings. It's all done behind closed doors to keep parents and the public in the dark.

This parent may have a legitimate concern about their child's placement, but linking it to the child being murdered outside of school feels like a bridge too far. If I disagreed with my child's placement and my child was later killed in a car crash, that would also not be the BOE's fault.

I have sympathy for a grieving mother here, and wish her the best in this tragic circumstance. If you aren't this grieving parent, maybe take a step back and recognize that these two events don't seem to be related.

I was wondering this also...the police are still conducting an investigation. We don't have enough information yet.

https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=39913

+1. It's too early either to say the bullying and the murder are related or unrelated. It's plausible that they are, but it's far from certain.

From the day he went missing, they knew the name of the student he went to meet up with. The mother knew it too in all likelihood as I'm sure the police asked her who Tay was. She had the background information on who was bullying her son at school and she came right out and told the world about the connection and how MCPS failed her son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's why it's a BOE issue. Some students have mental health issues. Some have developmental issues. The mother indicated that her son had some sort of issue that led her to believe he was vulnerable in the general population. If MCPS can't handle a child's issues, they send them to private school where there is staff trained to help the student do well. That costs alot of money. So MCPS tried very very hard to push back at parents who seek help for their kids.
From the sounds of it, that young man had such an issue and his mom knew and sought help to get him out of the general population because she knew he couldn't do well there. Mcps said tough luck. Now he's dead. Another student murdered him.
Not too hard to understand that mcps failed this family.

I agree it's tragic but I don't believe the county is responsible. In the US we don't even have public healthcare let alone mental healthcare.

NP here. No we don't have public healthcare, but we do have section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1975. I couldn't say for sure but there's a possibility MCPS was not in compliance.

When exactly did bullying become a disability?

Bullying can lead to depression and anxiety which can be classified as mental health impairments. Bullying creates a hostile environment in a school that denies students equal opportunities for learning. When bullying is reported but ignored by a school, students and parents have a right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

That may be true but it isn't a disability.

[Anonymous]

Let’s get real. It’s wonderful to live in a county so committed to diversity and equity. It’s also hard to manage vastly different education levels, socioeconomic classes, languages, and cultures seamlessly. We all want everyone to meld together into a perfect society, but the reality is that homogenous counties are easier to manage. MoCo is one of the most diverse areas in the world. It’s complex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s get real. It’s wonderful to live in a county so committed to diversity and equity. It’s also hard to manage vastly different education levels, socioeconomic classes, languages, and cultures seamlessly. We all want everyone to meld together into a perfect society, but the reality is that homogenous counties are easier to manage. MoCo is one of the most diverse areas in the world. It’s complex.

You're dead on. It's not like Howard County which is homogenous. Because there are vast economic and cultural differences within our county, typical metrics that compare medians don't tell the whole story. I saw an ad on TV the other day for David Blair that talked about college readiness. It's a nice idea but what I always wonder is why we insist this is for everyone. Why not embrace the reality that we aren't all the same and stop with this one size fits all approach.

[Anonymous]

There’s no larger issue the Board of Education should deal with than the safety of students. Education is useless if a student is murdered by classmates.

[Anonymous]

Is COSA going to allow the “bullied” family move to a new school district? Of course not. He is still going to live down the street from the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/kolbiereports/status/1486141379571032065?s=21

Watch the interview.. really upsetting.

umm I think this is tragic but don't see how this is an issue for the board of education

umm I think you need to watch the Twitter feed at the beginning of the post? There seemed to be three points the BoE didn't act upon?

1. Put an end to the bullying
2. Change program curriculums
3. Not be sent back into the Public School where he was being bullied

The bullying motive is b.s. on the day he was murdered he went to meet the bullies. Why do you go to a secluded place to meet people who are bullying you? For those who are moaning about violence in MCPS why don’t you come out and say it? It comes from the black community and an accepted part of their culture. Ask any teacher about where their biggest problems come from? Privately they will tell you but no administrator or public official will admit it.

First answer: blackmail, extortion, threat to harm family. I can think of a lot of reasons.
Second: violence is not an "accepted part" of black culture. So many things to say about this comment. Wow.

+1 The mother reported the bullying BEFORE he was murdered. The BOE could have offered a COSA so the child could finish out his education in a safe school. The BOE could have asked for results from MCPS to address the bullying including transferring the bullies out of Northwest to a school for troubled youth.

There should be a separate General Counsel for the BOE and MCPS. So many opportunities are missed to fix serious problems in the school system because the MCPS General Counsel Office is the puppeteer behind every level of review. There’s no independent review and far too often, parents are told no problems exist. This is an example of how the BOE’s lack of consideration cost a student his life. MCPS and BOE need to do better to keep students safe and address bullying in schools.

Does the BOE really approve every COSA request? You'd think they dealt with larger issues and these things are addressed by some low-level functionary at the central office. However, that being said is there any evidence that. a request was even properly filed?

No, COSA requests are approved or denied by the Division of Pupil Personnel and Attendance Services (in central office). Decisions can first be appealed to the COO/Superintendent's office, and then those decisions can be appealed yet again to the BOE. It is a legitimate question to ask which of these steps had been taken in this case.

Whose to say the mother didn’t exhaust all levels of appeal? She said the issue was reviewed by the Board of Education and denied.

That means that Dr. McKnight also denied the request and is also culpable in failing to protect the student from bullying that eventually led to his murder by classmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/kolbiereports/status/1486141379571032065?s=21

Watch the interview.. really upsetting.

umm I think this is tragic but don't see how this is an issue for the board of education

umm I think you need to watch the Twitter feed at the beginning of the post? There seemed to be three points the BoE didn't act upon?

1. Put an end to the bullying
2. Change program curriculums
3. Not be sent back into the Public School where he was being bullied

The bullying motive is b.s. on the day he was murdered he went to meet the bullies. Why do you go to a secluded place to meet people who are bullying you? For those who are moaning about violence in MCPS why don’t you come out and say it? It comes from the black community and an accepted part of their culture. Ask any teacher about where their biggest problems come from? Privately they will tell you but no administrator or public official will admit it.

First answer: blackmail, extortion, threat to harm family. I can think of a lot of reasons.
Second: violence is not an "accepted part" of black culture. So many things to say about this comment. Wow.

+1 The mother reported the bullying BEFORE he was murdered. The BOE could have offered a COSA so the child could finish out his education in a safe school. The BOE could have asked for results from MCPS to address the bullying including transferring the bullies out of Northwest to a school for troubled youth.

There should be a separate General Counsel for the BOE and MCPS. So many opportunities are missed to fix serious problems in the school system because the MCPS General Counsel Office is the puppeteer behind every level of review. There’s no independent review and far too often, parents are told no problems exist. This is an example of how the BOE’s lack of consideration cost a student his life. MCPS and BOE need to do better to keep students safe and address bullying in schools.

Does the BOE really approve every COSA request? You'd think they dealt with larger issues and these things are addressed by some low-level functionary at the central office. However, that being said is there any evidence that. a request was even properly filed?

No, COSA requests are approved or denied by the Division of Pupil Personnel and Attendance Services (in central office). Decisions can first be appealed to the COO/Superintendent's office, and then those decisions can be appealed yet again to the BOE. It is a legitimate question to ask which of these steps had been taken in this case.

Whose to say the mother didn’t exhaust all levels of appeal? She said the issue was reviewed by the Board of Education and denied.

That means that Dr. McKnight also denied the request and is also culpable in failing to protect the student from bullying that eventually led to his murder by classmates.

Or Dr Smith. When did it happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/kolbiereports/status/1486141379571032065?s=21

Watch the interview.. really upsetting.

umm I think this is tragic but don't see how this is an issue for the board of education

umm I think you need to watch the Twitter feed at the beginning of the post? There seemed to be three points the BoE didn't act upon?

1. Put an end to the bullying
2. Change program curriculums
3. Not be sent back into the Public School where he was being bullied

The bullying motive is b.s. on the day he was murdered he went to meet the bullies. Why do you go to a secluded place to meet people who are bullying you? For those who are moaning about violence in MCPS why don’t you come out and say it? It comes from the black community and an accepted part of their culture. Ask any teacher about where their biggest problems come from? Privately they will tell you but no administrator or public official will admit it.

First answer: blackmail, extortion, threat to harm family. I can think of a lot of reasons.
Second: violence is not an "accepted part" of black culture. So many things to say about this comment. Wow.

+1 The mother reported the bullying BEFORE he was murdered. The BOE could have offered a COSA so the child could finish out his education in a safe school. The BOE could have asked for results from MCPS to address the bullying including transferring the bullies out of Northwest to a school for troubled youth.

There should be a separate General Counsel for the BOE and MCPS. So many opportunities are missed to fix serious problems in the school system because the MCPS General Counsel Office is the puppeteer behind every level of review. There’s no independent review and far too often, parents are told no problems exist. This is an example of how the BOE’s lack of consideration cost a student his life. MCPS and BOE need to do better to keep students safe and address bullying in schools.

Does the BOE really approve every COSA request? You'd think they dealt with larger issues and these things are addressed by some low-level functionary at the central office. However, that being said is there any evidence that. a request was even properly filed?

No, COSA requests are approved or denied by the Division of Pupil Personnel and Attendance Services (in central office). Decisions can first be appealed to the COO/Superintendent's office, and then those decisions can be appealed yet again to the BOE. It is a legitimate question to ask which of these steps had been taken in this case.

Whose to say the mother didn’t exhaust all levels of appeal? She said the issue was reviewed by the Board of Education and denied.

That means that Dr. McKnight also denied the request and is also culpable in failing to protect the student from bullying that eventually led to his murder by classmates.

Or Dr Smith. When did it happen?

No one seems to have any documentation of any of this, so we don't know what the truth is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s no larger issue the Board of Education should deal with than the safety of students. Education is useless if a student is murdered by classmates.

Yes, they should personally process each and every COSA! At least until that interferes with one of my other areas of concern.

[Anonymous]

What MCPS has 100k kids, we think that there are ways to protect all off them no matter what? There are runts in every litter and they don’t always make it. Not saying we should try but MCPS can’t save them all. At some point the parents have to be realistic. If the mom didn’t have the resources to fix what ever and the kid didn’t have a better constitution I would think the mom has some of the responsibility in all of this. Just saying