HB1084

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in having school on Christmas or New Year's. Too many teachers and students would not show up. It would be a useless day just like the days tacked on at the end. And that's also an issue for the Jewish holidays. I don't understand why anyone is proposing this as a solution.

Winter break can still be winter break. Get rid of Good Friday and Easter Monday. Yes I know “state requirement” but that’s a bill I could support — making those available for makeup days.

Yes, why don't you get right on that with your advocacy of changing that law that has been there for generations.

Or you could write the BOE and tell them it's important that MCPS put in more than 1 snow day into the calendar, and that it puts makeup days on the calendar that it intends to use. And that it submits the virtual learning plan for snow emergencies that it promised the BOE it would prepare in 2024. These 3 actions are more attainable.

Why not all of the above? Getting to a calendar with more actual makeup days and actual snow days will require going up some days off somewhere in the calendar. The reason why we have so many seemingly random days off is because we’re trying to accommodate everyone. There isn’t a way to accomplish your ask without taking holidays…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in having school on Christmas or New Year's. Too many teachers and students would not show up. It would be a useless day just like the days tacked on at the end. And that's also an issue for the Jewish holidays. I don't understand why anyone is proposing this as a solution.

Winter break can still be winter break. Get rid of Good Friday and Easter Monday. Yes I know “state requirement” but that’s a bill I could support — making those available for makeup days.

Agreed! I grew up Catholic in a very Catholic community in the northeast and I don't remember Easter Monday being a thing that we observed. Certainly not to the point of needing a school day off. And if they removed Good Friday it would allow for more flexibility in the timing of spring break.

Why not eliminate most religious holidays and allow them to be treated as excused absences, and provide that any students who take off the day to observe won't be penalized in terms of missing work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in having school on Christmas or New Year's. Too many teachers and students would not show up. It would be a useless day just like the days tacked on at the end. And that's also an issue for the Jewish holidays. I don't understand why anyone is proposing this as a solution.

Winter break can still be winter break. Get rid of Good Friday and Easter Monday. Yes I know “state requirement” but that’s a bill I could support — making those available for makeup days.

Agreed! I grew up Catholic in a very Catholic community in the northeast and I don't remember Easter Monday being a thing that we observed. Certainly not to the point of needing a school day off. And if they removed Good Friday it would allow for more flexibility in the timing of spring break.

Why not eliminate most religious holidays and allow them to be treated as excused absences, and provide that any students who take off the day to observe won't be penalized in terms of missing work?

I mean that's fine except most religious holidays on the calendar are for Jewish and Christian holidays and there will be massive absences among both teachers and students on those days. I can't imagine those days would be more meaningful than tacking on makeup days at the end of the calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in having school on Christmas or New Year's. Too many teachers and students would not show up. It would be a useless day just like the days tacked on at the end. And that's also an issue for the Jewish holidays. I don't understand why anyone is proposing this as a solution.

If the concern is “equity” that’s the way to do it. It’s what MCPS is doing with everything else — if everyone can’t have it, no one can.

You really don't think there is a difference between 80+% and 3%? Expecting that you will move to a different country and be accommodated in this way is the height of entitlement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have received no less than 3 emails asking me to sign petitions/letters to encourage the state legislature to pass this bill. I will not be signing and I hope this doesnt pass.

The bill carves out an exception for MCPS from every other school district in MD to not have a minimum number of days but only a minimum number of hours, in perpetuity. This is not just about this year, this is about how MCPS cares about our kids’ education into the future.

I’m frustrated as everyone else that MCPS is extending the school year until almost July, but simply exempting themselves out of requirements is not the solution. We need a better calendar. We need to recognize that not every group can get their holidays off (and I’m fully in favor of no group getting them off, including Christian holidays… and I’m not Christian, I’m Jewish for the record). We do not need to be reducing the amount of education available to our kids.

Do not sign the petitions and let your state reps know not to pass this bill.

You’re honestly an idiot. Most states have either a minimum number of days or a minimum number of hours, not both. This isn’t about anytime trying to get out of anything.

Then why wouldn’t they change this for the state writ large and not just a special carve out for MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have received no less than 3 emails asking me to sign petitions/letters to encourage the state legislature to pass this bill. I will not be signing and I hope this doesnt pass.

The bill carves out an exception for MCPS from every other school district in MD to not have a minimum number of days but only a minimum number of hours, in perpetuity. This is not just about this year, this is about how MCPS cares about our kids’ education into the future.

I’m frustrated as everyone else that MCPS is extending the school year until almost July, but simply exempting themselves out of requirements is not the solution. We need a better calendar. We need to recognize that not every group can get their holidays off (and I’m fully in favor of no group getting them off, including Christian holidays… and I’m not Christian, I’m Jewish for the record). We do not need to be reducing the amount of education available to our kids.

Do not sign the petitions and let your state reps know not to pass this bill.

You’re honestly an idiot. Most states have either a minimum number of days or a minimum number of hours, not both. This isn’t about anytime trying to get out of anything.

Then why wouldn’t they change this for the state writ large and not just a special carve out for MCPS?

Talbot County has a similar bill pending. They really ought to change it for the whole state.

I think this bill is perfectly fine. Everyone complaining about why MCPS doesn't manage their snow days like Fairfax and Loudoun with a bunch of extra built in, this is how those districts manage it, because VA only requires 990 hours. You can't have it both ways. Loudoun has like 15+ snow days because their school day is longer. Maryland requires 1080 hours AND 180 days, which is stupid. The tack-on days are a pointless waste of resources, and so are the virtual days that other counties have started so they can claim on paper that they had a day of "school."

[Anonymous]

I celebrate Easter and never heard of Easter Monday before. Use it as back up day. We should have been in school on Lunar New Year too. Kids need school - period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no point in having school on Christmas or New Year's. Too many teachers and students would not show up. It would be a useless day just like the days tacked on at the end. And that's also an issue for the Jewish holidays. I don't understand why anyone is proposing this as a solution.

Winter break can still be winter break. Get rid of Good Friday and Easter Monday. Yes I know “state requirement” but that’s a bill I could support — making those available for makeup days.

Agreed! I grew up Catholic in a very Catholic community in the northeast and I don't remember Easter Monday being a thing that we observed. Certainly not to the point of needing a school day off. And if they removed Good Friday it would allow for more flexibility in the timing of spring break.

Why not eliminate most religious holidays and allow them to be treated as excused absences, and provide that any students who take off the day to observe won't be penalized in terms of missing work?

I mean that's fine except most religious holidays on the calendar are for Jewish and Christian holidays and there will be massive absences among both teachers and students on those days. I can't imagine those days would be more meaningful than tacking on makeup days at the end of the calendar

Well, then you're stuck having to choose between which religious holidays to take off and having folks complain about equity issues. I definitely agree with you about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, however. But other than Christmas, there aren't any Christian holidays scheduled as days off other than the Easter ones which I totally support getting rid of legislatively.

[Anonymous]

They need to prepare to pay staff and teachers when the year is extended. By extending the school year, it eats into days that they could work a summer job.

[Anonymous]

I feel like school PTAs need to get on this quickly.MCPS is trying to pull a fast one before parents catch up, with support from some state legislators. Would this only change this year or future years? When is the vote?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like school PTAs need to get on this quickly.MCPS is trying to pull a fast one before parents catch up, with support from some state legislators. Would this only change this year or future years? When is the vote?

This would be a permanent exemption… MCPS would like us to think it’s just about the mess this year but it’s not. This lets them have fewer school days in perpetuity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to prepare to pay staff and teachers when the year is extended. By extending the school year, it eats into days that they could work a summer job.

But extending to June 26 has been a makeup day possibility all along.

[Anonymous]

MCPS already goes well above the required hours. Whoever thinks they are trying to pull a "fast one" hasn't done spent any time actually researching the bill or done a comparison to other states' requirements.

It does NOT let them have fewer school days.

[Anonymous]

The hyserics of this group. MCPS already meets both requirements of 180 days AND is OVER the required hours. All this would help with this year is used the hours we are over, to help use for days.

In the future, MCPS could either opt to choose 180 days OR a minimum number of hours. Like many states already do.

Don't move to Colorado if you're so obsessed with school year length.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS already goes well above the required hours. Whoever thinks they are trying to pull a "fast one" hasn't done spent any time actually researching the bill or done a comparison to other states' requirements.

It does NOT let them have fewer school days.

Are you a shrill for the teachers union or MCPS? That’s literally what the plain language of the bill does. Right now MCPS is required, as every other district, to provide both days AND hours. The bill would say “eh, hours is fine.” I want more school for my kids, not less.