Recognizing growing community concerns about safety and discipline, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is considering new security and safety tools such as vape and weapons detection systems and mandatory student and staff IDs, according to a community letter from interim Superintendent Monique Felder.
In the letter sent April 2, Felder reaffirms the district’s commitment to safety and discipline in schools and aims to address mounting worries regarding student behavior that have been “in the forefront of community discussions, among student and staff and, lately in the news.”
“Comprehensive methods … can foster higher levels of safety and minimize incidents that violate the Student Code of Conduct,” Felder wrote.
While the letter outlines current security and discipline protocols, it did not provide details about the proposed new security and safety tools nor say when the school system would deploy those tools.
MCPS spokesperson Chris Cram said Tuesday that vape detectors would be paid for with funding from the school district’s $1.2 million share of the settlement of the national JUUL legal case. He added that the district is researching weapons detection systems, which would not be traditional metal detection devices.
Christine Handy, president of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP), wrote Tuesday night in an email that she was pleased to see Felder promoting a “positive and safe school climate” and that MCAAP supports measures being taken to ensure student and staff safety and well-being.
Handy also wrote that while MCAAP welcomes new approaches to addressing safety issues, she said “it’s crucial for us to review the effectiveness data for each initiative and solicit input from both staff and the community to ascertain the most suitable.”
The district should ensure “that the steps we take address the fundamental issues at hand and do not merely add layers of unnecessary approaches” and that it is imperative to develop a clear implementation plan, she said.
Cram said Felder’s letter aimed to serve as a reminder to students and families about the Student Code of Conduct and set “clear expectations for behavior while promoting respect, empathy, and inclusivity.
“Upholding the Student Code of Conduct provides a framework for students to understand the impact of their actions on others and encourages them to take responsibility for their behavior,” Cram said. Reinforcing the code “helps cultivate a culture of accountability and integrity within our schools. It teaches students the importance of respecting rules and boundaries, which are essential skills they will carry with them beyond their academic years,” he said.
Felder’s letter, which was sent as MCPS students and staff returned from spring break, did not explicitly share recent data or details regarding student safety incidents, such as fights, other violent incidents, drug use, overdoses, or possession of weapons such as knives and ghost guns. In the past school year, reported incidents include fighting at a football game, numerous bomb threats, a student arrested with a loaded ghost gun at Gaithersburg High School, drug overdoses and antisemitic graffiti.
Ricky Ribeiro, parent of two MCPS students and a PTSA co-vice president at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, said Felder’s letter “rings hollow” and that he has been disappointed by what he considers the district’s lack of meaningful progress in addressing safety and security issues, especially surrounding drug use in school.
Ribeiro said he became involved in school safety issues after the January 2022 shooting involving a ghost gun at Col. Zadock Magruder High School in Rockville. He said “MCPS really fumbled” its response to the shooting regarding communication and the reunification of students and parents. That same year a 15-year-old Kennedy High School student died from a fentanyl overdose off campus and a number of student overdoses and incidents of drug use in schools have been reported since.
Ribeiro said he has since testified about safety and drug problems at Kennedy High School at school board meetings and served on several MCPS Safety and Security Advisory groups. Last week, he spoke about school safety issues during a community forum held by the school board as part of its search for a new MCPS superintendent.
Ribeiro said his experiences left him feeling as if MCPS is unprepared for the reality of the safety threats in schools.
“I just see a system by large that is not ready for the safety and security realities of today on all fronts–whether it’s either responding to serious incidents or preventing them and then really having the structures and the personnel in place to help children truly feel safe after a serious incident does happen,” he said.
Debby Orsak, president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), said she was pleased to see the district’s letter was keeping the issue “front and center” and appreciated that the letter mentioned how involvement by families, local businesses, law enforcement, community members and other stakeholders can contribute to the “overall safety culture” in MCPS.
Felder wrote that parents and caregivers can help “by instilling values of respect, kindness and responsibility in their children, fostering open communication, actively engaging with school policies, and promoting positive behaviors at home.”
“[School safety] is constantly in the thoughts of parents and community members,” Orsak said. “We want [MCPS] to do everything necessary to keep our schools, our students, our staff safe.”
According to the letter, the district is working to “reset expectations around the [MCPS] Student Code of Conduct.” After spring break, school administrators were expected to “revisit behavioral expectations and consequences for students within the first few days.”
The Student Code of Conduct is a document that identifies prohibited behaviors and corresponding consequences. Consequences can range from participation in restorative justice practices and in-school suspension to long-term suspension or expulsion.
According to the letter, the district has taken other measures to ensure safety in schools and offices including:
- Adding fencing and gates, installing hundreds of new cameras in elementary schools and improving classroom door-locking devices;
- Implementation of new security protocols by safety staff including heightened monitoring of school bathrooms and other areas of school that are “not covered by security cameras;”
- Regularly reviewing emergency and security procedures with local law enforcement and partnering with community organizations and parents/guardians in working to “create a secure and welcoming environment;”
- Auditing and enhancing district reporting systems for misconduct which includes ensuring the process is clear and accessible; and
- Administering bullying, harassment and hate-bias training for all staff and administrators.
In November, the school board voted to approve the “Safe Schools Resolution,” which was introduced by Richard Montgomery High School senior Sami Saeed, the student school board member. Saeed has said he was inspired to create the resolution following a survey of nearly 400 students concerning their experiences regarding school safety that he conducted after a former Richard Montgomery student was arrested for allegedly bringing a handgun to the school in January 2023.
Orsak, who is also PTSA president of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, said the school’s community has been “begging” for more security as student enrollment increases to a projection of 3,000 students.
“There are schools that have half as many kids that have more security and so that’s frustrating,” she said.
Ribeiro said he’s looking for more from MCPS to address school safety and discipline than what was outlined in Felder’s letter, noting he doesn’t think the district has a “good grasp of the psychological toll [on students] of being in an environment” in which numerous safety incidents occur each school year.
“What I expect is actual professional-level investigative work to understand the scope and size of the problem and then for [MCPS] to put forth data, research, recommendations with budget and resources attached, so we can actually do something about it versus just telling people over and over again that safety and security are your top priority,” he said.