MCPS says state identified continued disproportionality in suspensions for Black students with disabilities; $5,638,869 in IDEA funds targeted

Brenda Brown, assistant to the associate superintendent in the Office of Special Education, told the Montgomery County Public Schools Strategic Planning Committee on March 25 that the district remains identified for "significant disproportionality" in suspensions for Black and African American students who receive special education services and must direct a portion of federal IDEA funds to corrective actions.

"It is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and we have to do this ongoing monitoring of disproportionality by race in areas of discipline, identification, and special education placement," Brown said. She told the committee that when a district is identified under the state process it must reallocate 15% of IDEA funds and added, "For those of you who would like to know, I would like to share that amount. It is $5,638,869 just to be clear."

Brown described how the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) identifies significant disproportionality using a lagging, risk‑ratio calculation. She said the district was identified based on two years of lagging data covering the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years and that MSDE’s next update — applying the subsequent lagged school years — typically arrives in May. "Every spring we are, updated by the state with a letter ... so, we will find out at that time how we are doing based on the state," Brown said.

Committee members pressed Brown on root causes, local actions and measurable progress. Brown summarized root causes the district’s cross‑office self‑assessment flagged: belief systems and relationship gaps, implicit bias in disciplinary decisions, an overreliance on exclusionary discipline, and limited capacity for social‑emotional learning and trauma‑informed practices. She listed planned response actions that the district is implementing: a real‑time data dashboard for suspensions, school data review meetings three times per year, review of the student code of conduct and its implementation, expanded professional learning, and targeted interventions at identified schools.

Brown told the committee the district will deliver a dashboard "beginning of the upcoming school year" to let schools see suspension data in near real time. She described the three‑times‑a‑year school review process, which brings together a CCEIS instructional specialist, school‑based resource teacher for special education, counselor, staff development teacher, assistant principal and restorative approaches coach to review local data and grant activities.

Brown reported some local results the district has recorded after targeted actions: a previously reported 13.8% decrease in suspensions of Black and African American students overall; a 22.5% reduction in the share of suspended students who were suspended more than once; and, she said, "as of December, 2024, there have been a 55% decrease in the suspensions of Black and African American students receiving social emotional special education services." She attributed those changes to expanded social‑emotional staffing, classroom culture training, restorative approaches and expanded de‑escalation training.

Board members asked for details on implementation. Natalie Zimmerman, Board member (District 2), asked whether the most recent (2023–24) state data had arrived; Brown confirmed that MSDE’s next formal update will arrive in May. Committee Chair Brenda Wolf, Board member (District 5), and Zimmerman pressed for specifics about how the code of conduct and trainings are being made accessible to all students and asked for clearer timelines and cycles for CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) recertification and other professional learning.

Brown listed schools that have taken part in the Summer Belonging Initiative as examples of the district’s local interventions: Bethesda‑Chevy Chase, Baker, Northwood, Paint Branch, Pyle, Briggs Chaney, Eastern, Richard Montgomery, Seneca Valley, Shady Grove, Lochraven/Loiterman (verbatim from presentation), Banneker, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg High and Middle, Holly Wells, John F. Kennedy, Julius West, Montgomery Village, Sherwood, Northwood High and Walter Johnson High School. (Brown said she would follow up with more specific program details on requests for one‑to‑one mentor matching and other operational questions.)

Brown also described professional learning: districtwide de‑escalation training delivered annually, crisis prevention and de‑escalation professional learning for roughly 12,000 staff members, and ongoing, targeted professional learning for paraeducators supporting social‑emotional special education services.

There was no formal vote or committee decision at the March 25 meeting; committee members requested followup information and the district team said it would return with additional details. Brown said the district will submit required updates to MSDE and that the committee should expect the next state letter and updated lagging data in May.