Schools

Flag Ban Vote, School Redistricting On Tap At Anne Arundel Board Of Education Meeting

The school board will vote on a flag ban that would only allow flags for America, Maryland, local governments or an educational purpose.

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Press release from Anne Arundel County Public Schools:

July 7, 2023

The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will be presented with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell’s recommendation on the first phase of comprehensive redistricting at its next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 12, 2023. The recommendation will focus on the northern part of the county as well as on creating boundaries for Old Mill West High School and West County Elementary School, which will open in the 2024-2025 school year. It is the next step in a process that kicked off in February and will culminate with adoption of a plan by the Board in November to go into effect in August 2024.

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Information about the recommendation will be posted at www.aacps.org/redistricting after it is presented to the Board. The Board will conduct a public workshop on the recommendation at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26, in the Board Room. The workshop is open to the public but no public comment will be taken.

The July 12 Board meeting begins at noon and will be held in the Board Room at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis. It is open to the public and subject to normal space limitations in the Board Room.

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At the meeting, the Board will also conduct its third reading and is scheduled to vote on proposed Policy IS, Display of Flags. The policy was first discussed by the Board at its May 24, 2023, meeting and discussed again at its June 26, 2023, meeting.

The meeting will also be the first for new Student Member of the Board Eric Lin of Severna Park High School. He is the 50th Student Member of the Board and the only student on a local board in the nation with full voting rights.

A complete agenda for the meeting can be found here. More information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab. Protocols, procedures, and expectations for those attending the meeting can be found here.

The Board will also meet in a public session at 10 a.m. for the sole purpose of voting to immediately go into closed session, during which time it will discuss confidential matters as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act including, but not limited to, legal advice, personnel, and negotiations. Closed session is not open to the public.

PROCESS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS

The Board will hear public comment:

  • from up to 10 total speakers (combination of virtual and in person) per agenda item (excluding personnel items, reports, and recognitions) during a single public comment section in the early portion of the meeting.
  • from up to 10 total speakers on items not on the agenda (excluding any student-specific or personnel items) near the end of the meeting.

    • The link to register to comment before the Board will be published at www.aacps.org/boardcomment at 3 p.m. on the Friday prior to the meeting. Registration will close at noon on the Monday prior to the meeting. Those wishing to provide comment must register through that link. Speakers may sign up for no more than two agenda items but only once on any individual agenda item.

    The following also apply:

  • For any item with more than 10 registered speakers, the Board will employ a lottery process to select the speakers.
  • Registrants who secure a slot to speak will be notified by email at the email address they provide when they register. All speakers will be allotted 2 minutes and must address the specifics of the agenda item for which they sign up. For details on the specifics of agenda items, click on the Board Docs link found at aacps.org/board. Comments about student-specific items and/or personnel matters are not accepted. Because the Board will be holding hearings specific to any redistricting plans to be developed in the coming months, it will not accept comment on redistricting at this meeting.
  • Written comments on agenda items can be submitted through an online form that can be at aacps.org/boardcomment beginning at 3 p.m. on the Friday prior to a Board meeting. Written comments must be no more than 250 words and must be submitted by noon on the day prior to a Board meeting. Comments can also be dropped off at the Parham Building, located at 2644 Riva Road in Annapolis, by that time.

    • Those who require the services of an interpreter to offer comment to the Board or who need other accessibility accommodations for Board of Education meetings should call 410-222-5311 to make those arrangements.

    The complete process for registering to speak and submitting testimony in writing can be found here.

    The general session of Wednesday’s Board meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Astound, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High-definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Astound, and Channel 1961 on Verizon.

    The meeting can also be viewed live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.

    Archived videos of Board meetings can be found online here.

    This press release was produced by Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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