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Disability Issues Advisory Board presents preliminary report calling for policy, staffing and timeline changes
Summary
The Disability Issues Advisory Board delivered a preliminary report to the school board with recommendations to rename and expand the advisory body’s scope, speed up reasonable-accommodation timelines and pursue facility-accessibility reviews. The board requested a formal response by Aug. 31, 2025.
The Prince George's County Disability Issues Advisory Board (DIAB) presented a preliminary report on June 26 asking the school board to adopt several changes intended to improve access, family engagement and staffing for students with disabilities.
Theresa Smith, DIAB vice chair, summarized work across three subcommittees (staffing and operational practices, facilities accessibility and policy alignment) and offered recommendations that the advisory board said would better align district practice with a social model of disability and improve outcomes.
Major recommendations included renaming the advisory board to reflect inclusion and rights language (examples suggested: Advisory Council on Disability Affairs or Advisory Board on Disability Rights); expanding the board’s scope to explicitly include IDEA compliance, seclusion and restraint practices, and digital accessibility; and clarifying DIAB’s relationship with the state-mandated Coordinated Community Services/Case Management entity (CCAC). Smith said the group is not proposing authority over CCAC but urged collaborative engagement.
DIAB also called attention to operational delays in staffing and accommodations. Smith said reasonable-accommodation requests “are now averaging over 100 days” and urged that the district restore a 30-day processing timeline within six months and provide principals with authority for interim actions to support students while accommodation requests are processed.
The advisory board asked the school board to formally review the detailed report and to respond by Aug. 31, 2025, with questions or directions for next steps. DIAB requested a follow-up meeting with the policy and governance committee and support for creating a cross-reference guide of disability-related policies. The group also requested that staff address data-collection delays related to DIAB’s requests.
Why this matters: DIAB’s recommendations seek to reduce delays in accommodations, strengthen oversight and improve facility accessibility — changes that could affect students with disabilities across the district.
Next steps: the advisory board asked for a formal board response by Aug. 31 and for staff to hold a subsequent meeting to discuss findings in more detail.
