We met with Dr. Kevin Cuppett, the Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Innovation at FCPS on September 2 to discuss the process of curriculum development, the potential weaknesses in transparency for parents in that process, and the textbook approval process.

The committee structure, the BOE/community interaction, the ability of the community to obtain information from the FCPS, and FCPS policies put parents at a disadvantage.

Earlier this year the state confirmed that failure to comply with the new standards related to Family Life and Human Sexuality, which include the introduction of gender identity concepts into the elementary school classrooms, could result in a loss of state funding, placing financial pressure on the FCPS to comply.

As explained elsewhere on this site, Equity and Equality are not the same thing and represent two very different approaches to addressing racism. FCPS has chosen to approach racism using Equity as its base premise. This should be a concern for parents who believe in equality and a color-blind education system.

FCPS is heavily invested in rolling out policies, training, and lessons based on the principles of Equity and Anti-Racism but these are not the same as Equality and Opposing racism in all its forms. The following article explains why the FCPS approach is counterproductive to creating the racist-free environment they are looking for.

As we hear and read more about Montgomery County, Frederick County parents should be aware that FCPS policies support the same activities and restrictions on disclosures to parents, align closely with the integration of CRT principles*, and seem to be on the same path for staff and teacher training.

Here is the latest status of the academic testing done by the state and locally here in Frederick County.

Unfortunately there is no consolidated parental notification policy where parents can go to see a list of all the FCPS actions that would generate a notice to parents and/or require a parent’s consent.

There are 11 committees (including panels and councils) that report to the board. The Policy Committee, Curriculum and Instruction Committee, the Family Life Advisory Committee and the Racial Equity Committee are currently the most active.

These two approaches – installing an anti-racist culture and combating racism by finding where it exists and eliminating it – sound similar but they are as different as the terms equity and equality, which are also often conflated as one simple concept that is interchangeable.