Parents, students and a city council member urge PGCPS to spare language immersion programs; call for pause of vote

Dozens of parents, students, teachers and community leaders used the Prince George's County Board of Education public hearing on Feb. 12 to plead with trustees to preserve language immersion pathways across the district, with multiple speakers calling to protect K–12 continuity for Spanish, French and Chinese immersion programs.

"I respectfully urge the board to amend the proposed budget to maintain Paint Branch's program and its feeder programs as full Chinese immersion programs," College Park council member Holly Simmons told the board, arguing the program drives enrollment and community stability.

Speakers said delivering robust immersion through high school is essential to produce biliteracy and college‑ and career‑ready graduates. Parent Theresa Smith told the board that cutting secondary immersion is "erasing the destination we have been working towards since kindergarten," and asked why central office increases would be protected while student‑facing programs are on the chopping block.

Several speakers cited process concerns. A commenter, Pavel Juravlef, said the Payne Branch Chinese immersion program serves about 500 students and asserted the program costs roughly $1.2 million; he contrasted that figure with district investments in AI surveillance mentioned during the meeting. The district did not provide a program‑level financial breakdown in this transcript; those figures were presented as public comment and not verified on the record during the hearing.

Students, including seniors who graduated from immersion pipelines, described academic and social benefits; a student speaker said immersion helped him earn college credits, maintain honors‑level work and gain leadership opportunities. Several parent speakers also asked for a phase‑out plan if the board moves forward, so students already in immersion pathways can complete the sequence.

Advocates raised equity and staffing concerns: parents warned eliminating immersion would reduce bilingual staff representation and limit future opportunities for students seeking bilingual careers; others recommended increasing recruitment (including the district's Puerto Rico hiring work) rather than dismantling programs that attract families to county schools.

Legal and compliance issues surfaced in public comments as well. A special‑education advocate asked the board to prioritize IDEA and COMAR obligations and requested a clear breakdown of how proposed special education accelerants or other funds would improve IEP implementation and reduce reliance on due process litigation.

Many speakers urged the board to slow the process: multiple participants asked the trustees to pause a vote they said was planned for Feb. 26 and hold additional hearings, and several asked for written program cost details and a district plan that preserves existing students' access.

What happens next: the board's staff and members said they will continue budget deliberations at a Feb. 19 public hearing; community organizers and parents asked for further hearings and for the board to delay final action until families and districts can review a program‑level financial analysis.