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Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

How long is an appropriate period? I suspect most alcoholics drive drunk although I could be wrong. My guess is that being charged wth a DUI (or not) as an alcoholic is thus a function of luck.

Not sure. It would be good if MCPS HR hired some subject matter experts who could guide them to some standard that they can align to. State and federal agencies have had those standards in place for years if they want to mimic those.

DUIs do not typically disqualify someone from state or federal employment.

Uh, for an illegally controlled substance they do. Magid had a DUI for alcohol in 2010 and a drug DUI in 2020. Her 2020 DUI definitely would have disqualified her for federal and state employment, which is crazy since MCPS teachers are definitely government employees technically, since MCPS is a service provided by our county government.

I'm not aware of any such prohibition for federal employment, although perhaps state laws are more strict.

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Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

How long is an appropriate period? I suspect most alcoholics drive drunk although I could be wrong. My guess is that being charged wth a DUI (or not) as an alcoholic is thus a function of luck.

Not sure. It would be good if MCPS HR hired some subject matter experts who could guide them to some standard that they can align to. State and federal agencies have had those standards in place for years if they want to mimic those.

DUIs do not typically disqualify someone from state or federal employment.

Uh, for an illegally controlled substance they do. Magid had a DUI for alcohol in 2010 and a drug DUI in 2020. Her 2020 DUI definitely would have disqualified her for federal and state employment, which is crazy since MCPS teachers are definitely government employees technically, since MCPS is a service provided by our county government.

Anonymous wrote:The policy related to arrests and disclosure is way too narrow. That's why the teacher indicted for felony embezzlement was going to be in a classroom up until a few days before school started when there were news articles about her.

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Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

How long is an appropriate period? I suspect most alcoholics drive drunk although I could be wrong. My guess is that being charged wth a DUI (or not) as an alcoholic is thus a function of luck.

Not sure. It would be good if MCPS HR hired some subject matter experts who could guide them to some standard that they can align to. State and federal agencies have had those standards in place for years if they want to mimic those.

DUIs do not typically disqualify someone from state or federal employment.

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Anonymous wrote:Misdemeanor DUIs 10 years apart may not be a disqualifying factor in the hiring process. MCPS is most concerned with violent acts, acts against children, ect. More serious - probably all if not most felonies.

If they have the 360/continuous background checks done now, then anything new that pops up on their record should be sent to active employers. But I do not know how they process checks.

Even if you want to hand wave the 2010 DUI, it’s hard to justify MCPS hiring someone for driving while under the influence of “a controlled dangerous substance” two years before she was hired. Especially since schools are legally mandated to be drug-free zones.

Interesting. So would you suggest that anyone that has used illegal drugs should be prohibited from teaching?

Yes absolutely.

Great then every person that grew up and smoked weed or tried Ecstasy or or Adderall won’t be teaching anywhere in the U.S. We’re going to lose a lot of good people.

And folks wonder why we don’t listen to them.

I think this is a good reason for MCPS to deepen and strengthen its policy on this matter. I don't necessarily think any one who has ever tried those drugs should be banned from teaching, but I do think we need more formal guardrails around the kind of substance use and abuse that would disqualify someone from being a teacher.

Are teachers drug tested? Annual/sporadic drug screenings could have weeded this teacher out.

Or the fact that MANY teachers and parents complained about her

This is the real problem. Just like with Beidleman, complaints go ignored and uninvestigated.

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Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

And of parents! No parents with with DUIs or anything similar permitted on school grounds.

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Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

How long is an appropriate period? I suspect most alcoholics drive drunk although I could be wrong. My guess is that being charged wth a DUI (or not) as an alcoholic is thus a function of luck.

Not sure. It would be good if MCPS HR hired some subject matter experts who could guide them to some standard that they can align to. State and federal agencies have had those standards in place for years if they want to mimic those.

Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

Anonymous wrote:issue more that it was fent and not that she is a teacher (who cares shes gone unless she gave it to the kids) and the question is did she know. and the poor dead guy. in the state of new york she would be charged w murder. it should be murder everywhere

Anonymous wrote:For those who aren't in the know, a first grade teacher, Sarah Magid, at MCPS's Charles Drew Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD was arrested recently after she was charged for selling fentanyl to a DC man who died as a result of overdosing on the drug.

SOURCE: https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2024/08/montgomery-co-first-grade-teacher-charged-with-selling-fentanyl-after-fatal-overdose/

A Montgomery County Public Schools first grade teacher has been arrested and charged with selling fentanyl.

Police began looking into Sarah Katherine Magid, who teaches at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, after a man fatally overdosed on fentanyl in March at a drug recovery housing facility in D.C.

During the investigation into the man’s death, police received his phone from his family and found an exchange of messages between Magid and the man, setting up numerous drug deals, according to charging documents.

The texts show the man asking Magid for pills on numerous occasions, specifically “Xans,” slang for the benzodiazepine Xanax, charging documents show. There was also evidence of benzodiazepines in the man’s system when he overdosed.

Just two days before the man was found dead, message transcripts in charging documents show he was texting with Magid throughout the day to arrange the delivery of 30 pills. When the man had picked up 30 pills for Magid, she responded saying, “I’ll give you 1 (one) I guess,” followed by a message reading, “As long as it’s 30.”

More interestingly, as more facts emerge about Magid in terms who knew what and when, it's clear that prior to Magid being hired by MCPS in 2022, she had a criminal background. MoCo 360 explores this angle in its piece on the story.

SOURCE: https://moco360.media/2024/08/23/mcps-teacher-charged-in-fentanyl-death/

According to court records, Magid also has other criminal charges on her record. They include a 2010 charge for driving/attempting to drive while impaired by alcohol and a 2020 charge for driving while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance. Magid pleaded guilty to both charges.

When asked why Magid was hired while having a criminal record, López did not specifically address the nature of Magid’s convictions, but referred to the laws the district follows when hiring. Since Magid is on leave, López said the district is prohibited from discussing personnel matters due to privacy law.

According to López, all MCPS employees complete a pre-hire criminal background check and are also subject to the background check process outlined in state law, which mandates employees to disclose information about investigations of child sexual abuse and sexual misconduct.

This smacks of more HR malfeasance and incompetence, similar to the Beidleman scandal, where people who put Beidleman forth for promotion knew he was under investigation for harassment but played dumb until things hit the fan in the Washington Post. Unlike Beidleman, it's hard to presume that Magid got the teaching job because of some connection, but then again, she is the daughter of a notable University of Maryland basketball player and Montgomery Blair High School Alumni, Brian Magid: https://mocoshow.com/2023/07/02/blairs-all-time-leading-scorer-brian-magid-has-high-praise-for-moco-native-nbas-josh-hart/

It's possible that someone knew someone in the hiring process at MCPS and did Brian's daughter a favor and got her hired at MCPS, despite her sketchy criminal background.

Or, it could just be that MCPS's HR department is sloppy and incompetent in its function and someone just failed to do a thorough enough background check.

The fact that either scenario is equally plausible says a lot about the state of MCPS these days.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

How long is an appropriate period? I suspect most alcoholics drive drunk although I could be wrong. My guess is that being charged wth a DUI (or not) as an alcoholic is thus a function of luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?

Recovered alcoholic? I think that’s fine. Someone who’s two years fresh from their latest charge? I would argue that I’m not sure that person qualifies as recovered and should be hired by MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should be doing yearly background checks on all employees.

What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think teachers are being arrested with the school never finding out?

Apparently, they’re hiring them without realizing they have an arrest record, as was the case with Magid.

Do you a DUI/attempted DUI should disqualify someone from ever teaching?

This is my question.
So a recovered alcoholic for example?