The Montgomery County Board of Education took the first step Monday in potentially overhauling the school district’s student transfer policy.
The board’s Policy Management Committee, including board members Pat O’Neill, Jill Ortman-Fouse, Judy Docca and student board member Ananya Tadikonda, spent a large chunk of Monday afternoon reviewing the Montgomery County Public Schools transfer policy and examining how it aligns with other area districts.
The committee used the information gathered to create “framing questions” to lead a future discussion with the full school board about potential changes to the policy.
The committee took no action on Monday, but brainstormed talking points for the school board, some of which included reviewing how to handle staff members’ requests to transfer their children to schools where they are employed, what constitutes as a “unique hardship,” how mental health issues should factor into transfer decisions and how overcrowding should be addressed.
The current policy outlines specific circumstances in which a student is allowed to transfer schools. For a transfer to be approved, the applicant must prove a unique hardship, which is defined as “problems that are not common to large numbers of families” such as day care needs or course preferences.
Additionally, the current policy highlights certain circumstances in which a student can transfer schools to attend the same school as a sibling and a transfer may be approved for a student that moves within the county during an academic year to allow the student to finish the school year at their current school.
In the 2017-2018 school year, 70.6 percent of 4,188 requested change of school assignments (COSAs) were approved, the lowest percentage recorded in the past three school years, according to MCPS data. About 73 percent were approved for the 2016-2017 school year and 75.5 percent were approved in 2015-2016.
However, Ortman-Fouse noted, a disparity exists between approval rates for white and nonwhite students.
Last school year, for example, 77.5 percent of COSA requests from white students were approved, while the next highest approval rate was among Hispanic and Latino students at 70.7 percent.
“Do we find that problematic, the differences between these percentages in COSAs approved by race?” Ortman-Fouse asked. “I think we should weigh that question very heavily.”
Another major topic of conversation centered around mental health, including whether a student should be required to provide written support from a medical professional to transfer for related issues.
Tadikonda voiced opposition to such a requirement, saying it would increase the equity gap among students.
“That documentation solely depends on a family having access to a professional who can provide that insight for students,” she said. “I think, by looking at this policy, we can ensure we are doing the best we can to make sure a student isn’t in a situation that profoundly impacts their ability to learn.”
Ortman-Fouse agreed, adding that mental health care is expensive and students who may not be able to afford such care shouldn’t be trapped in a situation that’s detrimental to their wellbeing.
“If you need to get out of a school because you’re suicidal and you’re falling apart because you’re being bullied, you should be able to get out,” Ortman-Fouse said.
Under the current policy, a COSA request based solely on a family’s lack of access to child care at the student’s home school is not approved because it is not a “unique hardship,” but policy committee members on Monday suggested that part of the policy be changed.
Ortman-Fouse again was the lead advocate on the issue, reminding fellow board members that 38 percent of MCPS families qualify for their children to receive free or reduced-price meals based on income levels. Expecting those families to be able to afford child care outside of what is available at a student’s home school is outlandish, she said.
Board member Judy Docca said some of the schools that received dozens of transfer students in recent years have had capacity issues, and questioned the board’s process for limiting transfers to already overcrowded schools.
Each of the committee members suggested the full school board discuss altering the policy to specifically account for school capacity. Other school districts, such as Anne Arundel County Public Schools, identify schools that have capacity issues and “close” them to transfers, according the the school district’s policy.
For the past three school years, John. F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring has recorded the most COSA requests to transfer out of the school, with 46 of 103 approved in 2015-2016, 43 of 117 approved in 2016-2017 and 47 of 144 approved in 2017-2018, according to MCPS data.
Conversely, Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville and Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville have recorded the most COSA requests to transfer into those schools in recent years.
In 2015-2016, Paint Branch received the most COSA requests, but accepted fewer than 20 of the 90 requests.
In 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, Richard Montgomery, which is home to a rigorous International Baccalaureate Magnet program, in Rockville was the most sought-after COSA school, with 157 of 210 requests approved during that time.
