Good Choices

The Howard County Board of Education took the time to address the issue of protections for transgender students at their board meeting last night. Here is their statement:

In the Howard County Public School System, each school works with children and families, as it always has, to preserve the privacy and rights of all students, including transgender students. HCPSS reaffirms that commitment and will not change its practices.

You can read more here at the HCPSS website. 

At the same meeting,  Board of Education approved a budget which restores support staff in media, kindergarten, ESOL, and early childhood to 2014 levels. They have also created a position for a diversity/inclusion coordinator. Let's hope it sticks this time! 

It is heartening to see the Board at work making such excellent choices in behalf of students, parents, teachers, and staff. If you'd like to thank them for their work, you can use this handy-dandy form provided by HCEA to show your support.   You can also go to Board Docs to see a complete list of what the Board has been doing this week. 

The new Board has been at work for about ninety days. New members were elected by constituents looking for responsiveness, transparency, and accountability. I'm seeing genuine concern for those issues and a concerted effort to support initiatives which impact students the most. 

Send them your thanks, won't you? And perhaps you might want to let the County Executive know you support their work on this year's budget. It's going to him next.