To the lawyers here..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of reflexively getting angry about what your kid can't have, why don't you think about what would happen if every single MCPS high school was required to offer exactly the same classes?

There would be no specialization at all and fewer advanced courses, OP. Because no high school has the room to accommodate that many different classrooms. There is no money to pay for additions to all these buildings (and some don't have the room for additions anyway because they're squeezed in urban blocks). The budget isn't big enough to pay all the required teachers assigned to every school.

"If my kid can't have it, then no one can have it".

This is essentially what you're doing.

My kids are in college and high school, they won't see all that regional stuff. My oldest studied AP Latin at Walter Johnson, and as far as I know, it's the only MCPS high school that offers it - and it might not anymore, under the regional concept. My youngest attends a different high school that has IB, but since she's not in the IB programme, they don't have anything special. None of us in the family begrudge the fact that others have other opportunities.

My argument is open up the access to these specialized programs to all in the county and make it criteria based

OK. So, for ex: half the seats go to the in-bounds students, and the other half go to out-of-cluster students? Or everyone has an equal chance, whether or not they live in-bounds?

Now: which criteria? GPA? Essays? Letters of rec? MAP scores? MCAP?

[Anonymous]

Wait but don't kids who want to learn a language only offered in like 1 school get a COSA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No

Why?

NP. Why would you have a case? What's the specific legal theory and under what authority would you sue? You generally can't use the courts to argue that an elected part of government isn't achieving their goals in the way you'd like.

That's the reason for this thread - are you a lawyer?

Yes, and I can't think of a legal theory that would support a lawsuit. That why I asked what theory you think there might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait but don't kids who want to learn a language only offered in like 1 school get a COSA?

No, they take it just like now.

[Anonymous]

OP, take that money you're willing to spend on lawyers and donate it to your local school's theatre or music program. It'll be better spent that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think you have a case. Equity does not mean providing the exact same programs at every school. The school district is legally obligated to provide free access to a reasonable education approved by the state and it fulfills that requirement. As long as it is providing equivalent opportunities in each region, there is no basis to sue. Equivalent is different from identical. If only certain regions had access to specialized programming, then you could sue. But every region has specialized programs. You’re just not happy with the actual selection in your region. But it is impossible to satisfy every family in every region so the bar would be impossible to meet for MCPS

Then why not open up the access to these specialized programs the way they used to for Blair, Poolesville - have one upcounty and one down county school have it and 3 regions have access to each

Or make these specialized programs available to all in the county, make it criteria based like Richard Montgomery used to be.

Because they don’t want to spend the transportation money I think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think you have a case. Equity does not mean providing the exact same programs at every school. The school district is legally obligated to provide free access to a reasonable education approved by the state and it fulfills that requirement. As long as it is providing equivalent opportunities in each region, there is no basis to sue. Equivalent is different from identical. If only certain regions had access to specialized programming, then you could sue. But every region has specialized programs. You’re just not happy with the actual selection in your region. But it is impossible to satisfy every family in every region so the bar would be impossible to meet for MCPS

Then why not open up the access to these specialized programs the way they used to for Blair, Poolesville - have one upcounty and one down county school have it and 3 regions have access to each

Or make these specialized programs available to all in the county, make it criteria based like Richard Montgomery used to be.

Because they don’t want to spend the transportation money I think.

Yes. Transportation is expensive and a logistical nightmare. And the criteria for admission also end up being imperfect and have issues. Engineering in HS is nice to have but by no means necessary to becoming an engineer. And you have the option to move inbounds to one of the schools offering engineering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of reflexively getting angry about what your kid can't have, why don't you think about what would happen if every single MCPS high school was required to offer exactly the same classes?

There would be no specialization at all and fewer advanced courses, OP. Because no high school has the room to accommodate that many different classrooms. There is no money to pay for additions to all these buildings (and some don't have the room for additions anyway because they're squeezed in urban blocks). The budget isn't big enough to pay all the required teachers assigned to every school.

"If my kid can't have it, then no one can have it".

This is essentially what you're doing.

My kids are in college and high school, they won't see all that regional stuff. My oldest studied AP Latin at Walter Johnson, and as far as I know, it's the only MCPS high school that offers it - and it might not anymore, under the regional concept. My youngest attends a different high school that has IB, but since she's not in the IB programme, they don't have anything special. None of us in the family begrudge the fact that others have other opportunities.

Just because you can make an impossible and poorly thought-out plan, doesn't mean that the way they have chosen to "specialize" is equitable. I personally don't understand how they are unable to offer reasonable specialization at each high school. It does smell like a lawsuit waiting to happen. There are plenty of rural schools that offer a wide variety of classes. It's not that hard to teach high school and below even for advanced students. It just isn't.

MCPS is one of the largest suburban high school districts. It's not an urban school where switching school districts requires negligible effort. They really shouldn't manage it that way.

[Anonymous]

If my kid gets accepted a magnet and we move to a high school that is in another region for 10th grade, can they go to the corresponding magnet program in the new region?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my kid gets accepted a magnet and we move to a high school that is in another region for 10th grade, can they go to the corresponding magnet program in the new region?

Why are you asking us? Ask MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think you have a case. Equity does not mean providing the exact same programs at every school. The school district is legally obligated to provide free access to a reasonable education approved by the state and it fulfills that requirement. As long as it is providing equivalent opportunities in each region, there is no basis to sue. Equivalent is different from identical. If only certain regions had access to specialized programming, then you could sue. But every region has specialized programs. You’re just not happy with the actual selection in your region. But it is impossible to satisfy every family in every region so the bar would be impossible to meet for MCPS

Then why not open up the access to these specialized programs the way they used to for Blair, Poolesville - have one upcounty and one down county school have it and 3 regions have access to each

Or make these specialized programs available to all in the county, make it criteria based like Richard Montgomery used to be.

Because they don’t want to spend the transportation money I think.

Yes. Transportation is expensive and a logistical nightmare. And the criteria for admission also end up being imperfect and have issues. Engineering in HS is nice to have but by no means necessary to becoming an engineer. And you have the option to move inbounds to one of the schools offering engineering

Great. So all we need, then, is an equity grant program to ensure that anyone can move to whichever school catchment their child might need.

Definitely less expensive than, like, enough seating with transportation or staffing...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my kid gets accepted a magnet and we move to a high school that is in another region for 10th grade, can they go to the corresponding magnet program in the new region?

I think they said they would try to allow that but would not make guarantees. It would be based on seats vs. program enrollments, so probably not for a high-demand magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my kid gets accepted a magnet and we move to a high school that is in another region for 10th grade, can they go to the corresponding magnet program in the new region?

Apply for a COSA based on bus transportation need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s no entitlement that all schools in the same district or all districts in the state have the same educational programs and opportunities available. If you could show a lack of access on the basis of race, national origin, or disability, you *might* have a claim. But you’d a) need to have a child from the harmed group and b) generally need to show an intent to discriminate (disparate impact claims are basically dead).

This is your high quality answer right here, OP. There is no legal theory on which to build a case, and the only way you might be able to make a case is if you could show that MCPS deliberately placed certain programs in certain communities in ways that harmed a protected class. That's not the case, however. The "regions" are pretty diverse, and while I'm not thrilled with the placement of the programs that best fit my kids' interests, I don't think that was intentional -- it's just bad luck for my family.

[Anonymous]

Law question. What if years ago I was a new masters degree teacher and was non renewed but admin lied to dllr and said I resigned? Also what if they fire teachers who are pressured to fraud the data? It seemed illegal but I'm not a lawyer.