PGCPS disability advisory board to present two new names and wider policy scope to Board of Education

The Prince George's County Public Schools Disability Issues Advisory Board decided May 20 to present two proposed new names and a set of recommendations to the Board of Education aimed at expanding the board's official charge and updating related policies.

The advisory board voted to forward both proposed names ' "Advisory Council on Disability Affairs" and "Advisory Board on Disability Rights" ' to the Board of Education for consideration after earlier attempts to adopt a single new name failed. "Our rationale is that the current name disability issues reflects, you know, a negative connotation," said Britney Patrick, the subcommittee lead who presented the renaming proposals. The board then approved a motion, without objections, to send both name options to the Board of Education for a decision.

The board also approved moving a package of recommendations intended to expand and clarify Board Policy 1,700. The subcommittee recommended explicitly adding authority for the advisory board to review and advise on free appropriate public education (IDEA), Section 504 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, electronic and information technology accessibility (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act), physical accessibility (Architectural Barriers Act and ADA), employment issues under Title I and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and seclusion and…