Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Because they do have a liability. Letting kids get on at stops that you know are unsafe is a liability. You can't just waive everything away, especially if the consequence is missed work--that's duress.

The stops aren't unsafe. Just inconvenient. Walk over the snow. There are tracks to follow.

Now imagine it is your elderly parents walking your 5 year old to school

They don't need to hold their hands until they get up to the bus.

But they will have to climb over the 2-3 feet of packed icy snow and sleet blocking the crosswalks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

No, MCPS isn't unique. What are you talking about? You don't think other districts have buses? Or you think only MCPS bears any liability?

Yes, other districts don't have buses, and because of that, they are able to open. Sure, many do, but some don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Because they do have a liability. Letting kids get on at stops that you know are unsafe is a liability. You can't just waive everything away, especially if the consequence is missed work--that's duress.

The stops aren't unsafe. Just inconvenient. Walk over the snow. There are tracks to follow.

Now imagine it is your elderly parents walking your 5 year old to school

They don't need to hold their hands until they get up to the bus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

The solution for unsafe conditions can't be to continue to put kids at risk. The creative solution should be to solve the safety issue, not to have parents sign a paper promising to not sue if their kids get injured or die.

You solve the safety issue by having parents take their children to school, or opting not to if they believe it's not safe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

The solution for unsafe conditions can't be to continue to put kids at risk. The creative solution should be to solve the safety issue, not to have parents sign a paper promising to not sue if their kids get injured or die.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

No, MCPS isn't unique. What are you talking about? You don't think other districts have buses? Or you think only MCPS bears any liability?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

The solution for unsafe conditions can't be to continue to put kids at risk. The creative solution should be to solve the safety issue, not to have parents sign a paper promising to not sue if their kids get injured or die.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per WaPo:

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Virtual learning
Carroll County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Closed
Culpeper County Public Schools: Closed
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed; code orange for employees
Frederick County (Md.) Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Howard County Public Schools: Closed; offices to open late, with liberal leave in effect
Loudoun County Public Schools: Schools are closed; workday for exempt licensed staff
Manassas City Public Schools: Closed; code blue for employees
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed; some child care sites will remain open, and district will host meal distribution sites
Prince George’s County Public Schools: Closed; emergency personnel to report
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed; code green for employees
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Closed; code 2, two-hour delay for 12-month employees; essential personnel and food services staff to report at specified times
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Meanwhile MCPS couldn’t even bother to get a virtual learning emergency plan approved by the State of Maryland

Because of y’all.

The public comments process was going to be an unnecessarily drawn out process because all of you think your opinion adds something of value. It rarely does. It just slows down the process and creates a situation in which the many are miserable because you cannot pacify the few.

Yes, one of the few good decisions they made was jumping to what we all already know: "virtual learning" doesn't work for too many students to be a legitimate option.

The purpose of snow day virtual learning is to technically meet the requirement for number of days. It doesn't have a benefit for the kids, it just takes away the option of make up days. So, essentially virtual learning is forcing schools to keep 1:1 devices that go home, which we KNOW is terrible for children, and trading a day of school for a day in which they learn very little. Virtual is also hard on parents, because kids often need help.

The exception might be kids in AP classes, but allowing AP teachers to send homework assignments, and not pretending that's asynchronous instruction, is the obvious solution there.

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per WaPo:

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Virtual learning
Carroll County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Closed
Culpeper County Public Schools: Closed
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed; code orange for employees
Frederick County (Md.) Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Howard County Public Schools: Closed; offices to open late, with liberal leave in effect
Loudoun County Public Schools: Schools are closed; workday for exempt licensed staff
Manassas City Public Schools: Closed; code blue for employees
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed; some child care sites will remain open, and district will host meal distribution sites
Prince George’s County Public Schools: Closed; emergency personnel to report
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed; code green for employees
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Closed; code 2, two-hour delay for 12-month employees; essential personnel and food services staff to report at specified times
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Meanwhile MCPS couldn’t even bother to get a virtual learning emergency plan approved by the State of Maryland

Because of y’all.

The public comments process was going to be an unnecessarily drawn out process because all of you think your opinion adds something of value. It rarely does. It just slows down the process and creates a situation in which the many are miserable because you cannot pacify the few.

Yes, one of the few good decisions they made was jumping to what we all already know: "virtual learning" doesn't work for too many students to be a legitimate option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Because they do have a liability. Letting kids get on at stops that you know are unsafe is a liability. You can't just waive everything away, especially if the consequence is missed work--that's duress.

The stops aren't unsafe. Just inconvenient. Walk over the snow. There are tracks to follow.

Now imagine it is your elderly parents walking your 5 year old to school

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Because they do have a liability. Letting kids get on at stops that you know are unsafe is a liability. You can't just waive everything away, especially if the consequence is missed work--that's duress.

The stops aren't unsafe. Just inconvenient. Walk over the snow. There are tracks to follow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?

Because they do have a liability. Letting kids get on at stops that you know are unsafe is a liability. You can't just waive everything away, especially if the consequence is missed work--that's duress.

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be because MCPS takes on the liability burden of getting students to school, whereas other systems do not. Are there creative ways to work around that? Waiver for bus riding/attendance? Optional open days?