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1
2
Related Entries: ACD, ACF, ACH, ACH-RA, ACG, BMA, GAA, GBA-3
RA, GBH, GEG-RA, JHF, JHF-RA 4
Responsible Offices: Chief of Staff Montgomery County Public 5
School; Teaching, Learning, and Schools; 6
Strategic Initiatives; Districtwide Services 7
and Supports; Human Resources and 8
Development; General CounselAcademic Officer 9
Chief Operating Officer 10
Chief of School Support, and 11
Improvement 12
13
14
Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural Proficiency 15
16
17
18
A. PURPOSE 19
20
To affirm the Montgomery County Board of Education’s desire 21
to create an educational community guided by its five core 22
values—Learning, Relationships, Respect, Excellence, and 23
Equity 24
25
To affirm — that the Board’s is deeply commitmentted to 26
providing every student equitable access to the educational 27
opportunities, rigor, resources, and supports that are 28
designed to maximize the student’s academic success and 29
physical, psychological, and social/emotional well-being, and 30
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ensuring that all students are supported to succeed and all 31
staff are empowered to do their best work. 32
33
To assert the Board’s belief that each and every student 34
matters, each student’s individual characteristics are 35
valuable, and in particular, that educational outcomes should 36
never be predictable by any individual’s actual or perceived 37
personal characteristics, and that equity demands intensive 38
focus and attention to eliminate all gaps in student 39
achievement. 40
41
To establish and promote a framework that prepares all 42
students to live and work in a globally-minded society;, and 43
fosters a positive learning environment that embraces all 44
unique and individual differences;, and, uses an equity lens 45
to consider the impact of any program, practice, decision, or 46
action on all student groups with a strategic focus on 47
marginalized student groups. 48
49
To affirm the Board’s unwavering commitment that all staff 50
will be culturally proficient, and demonstrate mutual respect 51
without regard to any individual’s actual or perceived 52
personal characteristics. 53
54
To uphold the Board’s core values, and ensure compliance with 55
all federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws. 56
57
B. ISSUE 58
59
Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated. It impedes 60
Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) ability to discharge 61
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its responsibilities to all students and staff, and achieve 62
our community’s long-standing efforts to create, foster, and 63
promote equity, inclusion, and acceptance for all. 64
65
The Board recognizes that equity goes beyond meeting the 66
letter of the law. Equity also requires proactive steps to 67
identify and redress implicit biases and structural and 68
institutional barriers that too often have resulted in 69
identifiable groups of students and staff being unjustifiably 70
or disproportionately excluded from or underrepresented in 71
key educational program areas and sectors of the workforce, 72
as well as over-identified in student discipline actions. 73
Continued vigilance is necessary to end identified inequities 74
that students and staff experience because of their actual or 75
perceived personal characteristics. 76
77
For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions 78
are used: 79
80
1. Anti-racist means opposed to racism 81
82
2. Antiracism is a process that requires that all members 83
of the MCPS community actively identify, interrupt and 84
dismantle racist beliefs, interactions, practices, and 85
policies so that we expand and unleash every students’ 86
potential, academically and socially-emotionally. 87
88
2. 1. Cultural proficiency is the ongoing process of becoming 89
knowledgeable of one’s own culture, as well as the 90
cultures of others in order to foster an appreciation, 91
understanding, and respect for varying cultural 92
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expressions that exist in the actions and interactions 93
of an organization; and, to strengthen and enrich the 94
organization and the community at large with the 95
presence and contributions of many cultures. 96
97
3.2. Discrimination includes actions that are motivated by an 98
invidious intent to target individuals based on their 99
actual or perceived personal characteristics, as well as 100
acts of hate, violence, insensitivity, disrespect, or 101
retaliation—such as verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, 102
slurs, threats, physical violence, vandalism, or 103
destruction of property—that impede or affect the 104
learning or work environment. Discrimination also 105
includes conduct or practices that may be facially 106
neutral but that have an unjustified impact based on 107
individuals’ actual or perceived personal 108
characteristics. Discrimination encompasses racism, 109
sexism, and other forms of institutional prejudice in 110
all their manifestations. 111
112
4.3. Equity is the commitment to ensure that every student 113
and staff member, without regard to their actual or 114
perceived personal characteristics, is given the 115
individual challenges, support, and opportunities to 116
exceed a rigorous common standard in order to be prepared 117
for academic and career success. 118
119
4. Equity lens means that for any program, practice, 120
decision, or action, the impact on all students is 121
addressed, with a strategic focus on marginalized 122
student groups. 123
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124
5. Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes 125
that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions. 126
These biases, which encompass both favorable and 127
unfavorable assessments, may be activated involuntarily 128
and without an individual’s awareness or intentional 129
control. 130
131 6. Personal Characteristics include race, ethnicity, color, 132
ancestry, national origin, nationality, religion, 133
immigration status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender 134
expression, sexual orientation, family 135
structure/parental status, marital status, age, ability 136
(cognitive, social/emotional, and physical) or mental 137
disability, poverty and socioeconomic status, language, 138
or other legally or constitutionally protected 139
attributes or affiliations. 140
7. 141
7. Racism means the systemic oppression of a racial group 142
to the social, economic, and political advantage of 143
another. Racism plays out in multiple levels: 144
internalized, interpersonal, institutional, systemic, 145
and systematic. 146
147
148
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C. POSITION 149
150
1. The Board expects the district to develop and promote a 151
culture of high expectations for all students and staff 152
performance and maintain environments that will be 153
equitable, fair, safe, diverse, and inclusive; and 154
eliminate inequities of opportunities, raise the level 155
of achievement for all students, and significantly 156
address achievement gaps. 157
158
1.2. The Board prohibits the use of language and/or the 159
display of images and symbols that promote hate and can 160
be reasonably expected to cause substantial disruption 161
to school or district operations or activities. This 162
prohibition will not be used, however, to prevent 163
responsible discussion of such language, images or 164
symbols for educational purposes. 165
166
2.3. The Board expects all students and staff to conduct 167
themselves in a manner that demonstrates mutual respect 168
without regard to an individual’s actual or perceived 169
personal characteristics. 170
171
3.4. The Board prohibits discrimination, by students and 172
staff, of any kind, directed at persons because of their 173
actual or perceived personal characteristics. 174
175
4.5. The Board commits to modelling the expectations in this 176
policy, and expects all Board and MCPS reports, 177
presentations, and decision making to take into account 178
the equity implications of this policy. 179
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180
5.6. The Board also expects and promotes the following: 181
182
a) Collaboration among staff, students, 183
parents/guardians, and the community: 184
185
(1) Staff are expected to work together and with 186
students, parents/guardians, and community 187
members to ensure that each school and work 188
site is free from discrimination. 189
190
(2) Parents/guardians are encouraged to establish 191
expectations for their children that are 192
consistent with the beliefs, intentions, and 193
obligations set forth in law and as reflected 194
in this policy, and to collaborate with MCPS 195
staff to meet these expectations. 196
197
(3) Staff are expected to promote engagement of 198
all parents/guardians in their children’s 199
education and work to remove barriers that 200
impede their active participation without 201
regard to actual or perceived personal 202
characteristics. 203
204
(4) MCPS shall seek broad participation on task 205
forces, committees, commissions, and other 206
advisory bodies which represent diverse 207
communities, cultures, languages, and 208
perspectives. 209
210
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b) Equality of educational opportunities. 211
212
(1) The Board is committed to addressing 213
disparities in levels of access to factors 214
critical to the success of all students, 215
including the following: 216
217
(a) Resources, including challenging and 218
creative courses, programs, and 219
extracurricular activities; 220
221
(b) Effective and qualified teachers, 222
leaders, and support staff; 223
224
(c) Adequate facilities and equipment; 225
226
(d) Updated technology; 227
228 (e) Quality education materials; 229
230
(e)(f) Practices and procedures that provide for 231
educational equity and ensure that there 232
are not obstacles to accessing 233
educational opportunities for any 234
student; and 235
236
(f)(g) Sufficient funding. 237
238
This commitment is, and must continue to be, 239
evident in how resources are allocated, 240
including an intentional strategy of providing 241
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additional funding to students in greater 242
need, as well as to schools that serve larger 243
numbers of students in need. 244
245
(2) MCPS will work to identify and address 246
structural and institutional barriers that 247
could prevent students from equitably 248
accessing educational opportunities in all 249
schools. 250
251
(3) MCPS will expect the equitable administration 252
of disciplinary consequences as one of the 253
essential components to equitable access to 254
educational opportunities in schools. 255
256
(4) MCPS will take proactive steps to help English 257
language learners overcome language and other 258
barriers so they can meaningfully participate 259
in their schools’ educational programs.work 260
toward empowering emergent 261
multilinguals/English Language Learners to 262
master social and academic English, using 263
their first language(s) and culture(s) as 264
assets, to thrive in school, college, careers, 265
and as global citizens. MCPS will provide 266
access to rigorous coursework and equal access 267
to comparable academic programs both among 268
schools and among students within the same 269
school without regard to actual or perceived 270
personal characteristics. 271
272
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(5) MCPS will encourage all students to pursue 273
their goals and interests, without regard to 274
historical barriers or stereotypes. Students 275
will be provided wide access to various and 276
multiple opportunities to enroll in 277
challenging programs and participate in a wide 278
variety of school activities, including 279
athletics, extracurricular and non-academic 280
programs, to enrich their perspectives and to 281
prepare for meaningful and fulfilling work in 282
their chosen careers. 283
284
(6) MCPS will promote and encourage schools, 285
classrooms, work sites, and school-sponsored 286
representations (including mascots, logos, 287
team names, chants, or musical accompaniments) 288
to be inclusive, nondiscriminatory, and bias-289
free, anti-racist/anti-biased, and to provide 290
a welcoming climate for all. 291
292
(7) MCPS will provide a culturally responsive 293
Prekindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum that 294
promotes equity, respect, anti-racist/anti-295
biased behavior, and civility among our 296
diverse community, accurately depicts and 297
represents the distinctive contributions of 298
our global community, and provides 299
opportunities for staff and students to model 300
cultural proficiency in every school and 301
program. The curriculum shall enable staff to 302
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model and students to develop the following 303
attitudes, skills, and behaviors: 304
305
(a) Value one’s heritage and the heritage of 306
others; 307
308
(b) Respect, value, and celebrate diversity 309
as an essential component of a healthy 310
and thriving community; 311
312
(c) Value the richness of cultural pluralism 313
and commonality; 314
315
(d) Develop and promote inclusive 316
relationships and work effectively in 317
cross-cultural environments; and 318
319
(e) Confront and eliminate stereotypes 320
related to individuals’ actual or 321
perceived personal characteristics. 322
323
(8) Instructional materials used in MCPS schools 324
will reflect the diversity of the global 325
community, the aspirations, issues, and 326
achievements of women, persons with 327
disabilities, and persons from diverse racial, 328
ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, as well as 329
persons of diverse gender identity, gender 330
expression, or sexual orientation. 331
332
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c) TrainingProfessional learning and education to 333
achieve districtwide cultural proficiency. 334
335
MCPS will encourage effective collaboration among 336
staff, parents/guardians, and community members by 337
offering opportunities to enhance cultural 338
proficiency, creating districtwide engagement, and 339
promoting understanding and resolution of 340
differences and disagreements. 341
342
d) Equality of employment opportunities. 343
344
(1) MCPS shall continue to monitor and promote a 345
diverse workforce and take appropriate action 346
to create a district free of implicit bias and 347
discrimination in all aspects of employment. 348
349
(2) MCPS will take positive steps to eliminate 350
structural and institutional barriers to 351
recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting 352
a diverse workforce. 353
354
(3) MCPS will identify staff positions in which 355
individuals from diverse backgrounds are 356
underrepresented, and promote a diverse 357
workforce by actively recruiting and/or 358
promoting qualified candidates, consistent 359
with negotiated agreements. For example, MCPS 360
will continue to recruit staff to positions 361
that are nontraditional for their gender. 362
363
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(4) MCPS will empower staff to promote the Board’s 364
core values and beliefs expressed in this 365
policy in daily interactions with peers, 366
students, parents/guardians and members of the 367
community. 368
369
D. DESIRED OUTCOMES 370
371
1. Every school and work site will embody a culture of 372
respect, grounded in the Board’s core values, that 373
promotes understanding, respect, civility, acceptance, 374
and positive interaction among all individuals and 375
groups. 376
377
2. Structural and institutional barriers to educational and 378
employment opportunities will be eliminated. 379
380
3. MCPS schools and work sites will be equitable, safe, 381
diverse, inclusive, and free of discriminatory acts of 382
hate, violence, insensitivity, and disrespect. 383
384
4. Educational outcomes shall not be predictable by actual 385
or perceived personal characteristics, and gaps in 386
student achievement will be significantly reduced. 387
388
5. MCPS students and staff will become models in the 389
community of civility, acceptance, respect, and positive 390
interactions. 391
392
6. The educational experiences of all students will be 393
enriched by providing exposure to staff from many 394
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backgrounds reflecting the pluralistic nature of the 395
community, thereby providing settings for education that 396
promote understanding of diversity and contribute to the 397
quality of the exchange of ideas inherent in the 398
educational setting. 399
400
E. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES 401
402
1. The Board will address disparities in levels of access 403
to resources critical to the success of students by 404
implementing an intentional strategy of providing 405
additional funding to students in greater need, as well 406
as to schools that serve larger numbers of students in 407
need; and ensuring equitable access to effective leaders 408
and teachers for all students. 409
410
2. MCPS will engage with staff, students, 411
parents/guardians, and the entire community to build and 412
sustain a culture emblematic of the ideals of this 413
policy. 414
415
3. MCPS will identify a process for analyzing data to 416
develop goals, objectives, strategies, and timelines for 417
the implementation of equitable and culturally competent 418
practices in each school. Multiplemultiple indicators 419
are necessary to monitor student outcomes, engagement, 420
and school climate, and specific data that will be 421
used to ensure accountability for student, school, and 422
districtwide performance; to reduce variability in 423
outcomes; and to ensure that academic outcomes will not 424
be predictable by actual or perceived personal 425
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characteristics and can be assessed and reported 426
transparently to the public. 427
428
4. Programs, curricula, instructional materials, and 429
activities, including athletics, extracurricular and 430
non-academic programs and activities, will provide all 431
students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and 432
behaviors that promote cultural proficiency and anti-433
racist/anti-biased behaviors that enable students to 434
live and work together in our increasingly diverse 435
county, state, nation, and world. 436
437
5. MCPS will provide tailored and differentiated 438
professional development and training learning to – 439
440 5.a) build capacity for cultural proficiency and 441
cultural responsiveness, 442
443
6.b) gain the skills and knowledge to create a learning 444
environment that is student-centered and meets the 445
individual and diverse needs of all students, and 446
447
c) address areas of inequity in the system and the 448
barriers that may impede students success, social-449
emotional learning, and physical and psychological 450
health of students. 451
452
to ensure that all staff are culturally proficient 453
and possess the skills, knowledge, and beliefs about 454
social-emotional learning and the mental health of 455
students to create a learning environment that is 456
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student-centered and meets the individual and diverse 457
needs of students. 458
459
7.6. At all times, sStaff will foster – 460
461
8.a) physically and psychological safe and welcoming and 462
psychologically safe environments for learning and 463
working; 464
465
9.b) model and encourage respectful, and civil discourse 466
and interactions among all staff, students, 467
parents/guardians, and community members; and 468
469
10.c) strive to remove cultural, linguistic, 470
technological, or transportation-related barriers 471
that may prevent families from engaging with their 472
children’s education, through the use of culturally 473
responsive resources, such as – 474
475
11.1. interpreters, 476
477
12.2. translated documents, and 478
479
13.3. collaboration with organizations that may 480
facilitate communication between MCPS and 481
families.for all by encouraging respectful 482
and civil discourse and interactions among all 483
staff, students, parents/guardians, and 484
community members at all times; and, use 485
resources, such as interpreters and translated 486
documents, to remove cultural or linguistic 487
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barriers that may prevent families from 488
engaging with their children’s education. 489
490
7. Strategies will beSpecific strategies will be 491
identified, communicated and used to prevent 492
discrimination, and procedures will be followed to 493
resolve, monitor, and analyze such incidents of 494
discrimination if they occur. 495
496
8. MCPS will identify partnerships and work cooperatively 497
with the Montgomery County Executive, the Montgomery 498
County Council, local law enforcement agencies, other 499
county agencies, community groups, business 500
organizations, and other stakeholders to increase equity 501
and reduce discrimination for students and staff. 502
503
9. A statement summarizing this Board policy of 504
nondiscrimination, will be prominently included in MCPS 505
publications and on the MCPS website. Any publication 506
that states the Board policy of nondiscrimination in 507
English will also be translated into those languages for 508
which translation and interpretation services are most 509
frequently requested by parents/guardians of MCPS 510
students. 511
512
10. The superintendent of schools will designate an 513
appropriate lead office to implement this policy, with 514
support from other offices as appropriate, and assume 515
responsibility for: 516
517
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a) Monitoring and ensuring MCPS compliance with all 518
federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws 519
and MSDE reporting requirements; 520
521
b) Identifying the method of evaluation to measure the 522
effect of equitable practices districtwide and in 523
schools; 524
525
b)c) Promptly investigating, and resolving complaints of 526
discrimination; 527
528
d) Designating an individual responsible for the 529
facilitation, monitoring, and implementation of 530
system equity initiatives; 531
532
c)e) Increasing awareness of the Board’s values and 533
expectations under this policy; 534
535
f) Requiring that an equity lens be used in reviews of 536
- 537
1) staff, curriculum, pedagogy, professional 538
learning, instructional materials, and 539
assessment designs; and 540
541
2) all staff recruiting, hiring, retention, and 542
promotion processes; 543
544
d)g) Providing trainingprofessional learning and 545
outreach to improve regarding nondiscrimination, 546
antiracism, equity and cultural proficiency; and 547
conducting outreach to support the application of 548
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these concepts in professional conduct and 549
practice; and 550
551
e)h) Maintaining appropriate records. 552
553
11. The superintendent of schools may direct an employee who 554
exhibits insensitive behavior as evidenced by violating 555
the values and expectation expressed in this policy, 556
to participate in additional training regarding cultural 557
proficiency. Continued insensitivity will not be 558
tolerated by the Board and may result in further 559
disciplinary action, including dismissal, consistent 560
with the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct. 561
562
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F. REVIEW AND REPORTING 563
564
1. The superintendent of schools will – 565
566
a) ensure that equity be addressed in the Local Every 567
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated Strategic 568
Plan; 569
570
b) disaggregate student data to analyze trends and 571
identify gaps, and use such data to support the 572
creation of equitable solutions; and 573
574
a)c) provide the public and the Board with regular 575
updates on the implementation of this policy and 576
efforts undertaken by the district to create an 577
equitable school system that fulfills the Board’s 578
core values. 579
580
2. This policy will be reviewed every three years in 581
accordance with the Board of Education’s policy review 582
process. 583
584
585
Related Sources: MCPS Culture of Respect Compact1; Student Code 586
of Conduct in MCPS; MCPS Employee Code of 587
Conduct; MCPS Guidelines for Respecting 588
Religious Diversity; MCPS Guidelines for 589
Student Gender Identity; U.S. Constitution 590
1 Culture of Respect Compact among Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Education
Association, Service Employees International Union Local 500, and the Montgomery County Association of
Administrators and Principals
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U.S.C.), Amendment 14; Title VI of the Civil 591
Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.; 592
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as 593
amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; Title IX 594
of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. 595
§ 1681 et seq.; 34 Code of Federal Regulations 596
(CFR), Part 106, 34 CFR Part 100; Individuals 597
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 598
U.S.C. § § 1400-1487; Section 504 of the 599
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 600
U.S.C. § 794; Americans with Disabilities Act 601
(ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.; Section 1981 602
of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 603
1981; Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 604
1967, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634; Equal Pay Act of 605
1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d); Equal Rights 606
Amendment to the Maryland Constitution’s 607
Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, 42 608
U.S.C. § 18001 et seq.; Maryland Constitution 609
Declaration of Rights (Article 46); Annotated 610
Code of Maryland, State Government Article, 611
Title 20, Human Relations; Annotated Code of 612
Maryland, Education Article 6-104, 7-424.1; 613
Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 614
13A.05.01; Montgomery County Racial Equity and 615
Social Justice Act Amendments to Montgomery 616
County Code §1A-201, §2-64A, §2-81C, §27-83, 617
§33A-14. 618
619
Policy History: Adopted by Resolution No. 595-69, November 11, 620
1969; amended by Resolution No. 16-72, January 11, 1972; amended 621
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by Resolution No. 536-77, August 2, 1977; amended by Resolution 622
No. 240-96, March 25, 1996; amended by Resolution No. 323-96, May 623
14, 1996; amended by Resolution No. 249-03, May 13, 2003; amended 624
by Resolution No. 318-17, June 26, 2017; copy edits December 11, 625
2019.; amended ______ . 626
627
Note: Tenets of Board policies ACB, Nondiscrimination, ACE, 628
Gender Equity, GBA, Workforce Diversity, and GMA, Human Relations 629
Training of MCPS Staff, were incorporated into Resolution No. 318-630
17 amendments to this policy, and were rescinded upon adoption of 631
amended Board Policy ACA on June 26, 2017. 632
633
634
635
636
637