MCPS reports about 11% decrease in serious incidents 

Consistency the focus for safety and security; vape detectors coming, officials say

January 13, 2025 6:39 p.m.

As Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) moves forward with several safety initiatives, reported serious incidents involving students declined about 11% last fall when compared with the same period during the 2023-2024 school year, according to district staff.  

During a Thursday presentation to the county school board, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the numbers show the district is “moving in the right direction,” but it needs to focus on consistency.   

“[It] doesn’t mean that there isn’t progress to make. But [serious incidents] are abnormalities,” Taylor said. “There’s serious things that happen in school, but it’s not an everyday, every classroom, every student experience.” 

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Meanwhile, Marcus Jones, the former county police chief who now heads the MCPS Department of Security and Compliance, told the board that a lack of consistency between schools was the biggest takeaway of recent security assessments of county high schools. 

“We need a consistent system that everybody understands what’s the rules of engagement and what are the resources that we all have — no matter what our environment, no matter what the culture is at our particular school — so that we’re all on the same page,” Jones said. 

Safety by the numbers  

Serious incidents are defined as those that involve some harm, risk or threat of harm to staff or students; seriously disrupt school operations; or concern staff or students and could escalate to a community concern or police/legal matter, according to school board documents. 

According to the MCPS staff presentation, there were 1,488 serious incidents reported from Aug. 26 to Dec. 4, with 84, or about 6%, of those incidents involving fighting/attacks on others. Another roughly 6%, or 91 reported incidents, involved drugs and controlled substances; 71 incidents, or about 5%, included knives and other weapons, and trespassing and false alarms or bomb threats made up about 2% each of the incidents.  

The majority of the 1,184 incidents, 79%, fell under the “other” category, which can encompass medical emergencies and other issues.  

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The total represents a decrease from the same time period during the prior school year, when 1,662 serious incidents were reported, with 7%, or 115 of those incidents, involving fights, followed by those involving drugs at 5%, knives and other weapons at 4%, and trespassing and false alarms/bomb threats at 2% each. Eighty percent of the reported incidents were classified as in the “other” category.  

In August, MCPS told the board the district would explore how serious incidents are reported after staff members said the reporting likely wasn’t capturing all of the incidents that may be occurring.  

Shauna-Kay Jorandby, director of student engagement, behavioral health and academics, explained Thursday how serious incidents are tracked, but the presentation didn’t mention a district-wide review of how incidents are reported.  

Vice President Grace Rivera-Oven and other board members pushed for more information on the incident data. Rivera-Oven said she wanted to see a breakdown of the “other” category and identify at what grade levels the incidents happened.  

“To have 1,184 under ‘other’ incidents doesn’t sit well with me,” Rivera-Oven said.  

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Update on implemented safety measures 

The district has been working on several safety initiatives, including adding vape detectors to high schools, implementing a new mandatory school ID policy and piloting a more restrictive cell phone use program. Jones told the board vape detector installations are being scheduled.  

Additionally, Jones said 98% of new cameras, which were identified from a backlog of cameras that needed to be upgraded, that were purchased with a state grant have been installed in middle schools.  Only one vacancy – a post serving Northwest High School in Germantown — remains for a Community Engagement Officer, a county police officer that serves a cluster of schools, Jones said. Police expect that position to be filled this month, he said.  

According to Jones, all school security assistants are also receiving training on the management of aggressive behaviors to “enhance de-escalation.”  

MCPS staff are conducting security assessments of middle and high schools, which includes a walk-through with the principal, key administrators, security staff and others to address issues such as camera needs and staff capacity. Damon Monteleone, associate superintendent of well-being and student services, said each school will receive a report summarizing the findings.  

Monteleone said the high school assessments are nearly completed and middle schools are next. 

Student member of the board Praneel Suvarna voiced concerns about the presentation staff presentation on school safety.  

“To be quite frank, I’m really disappointed with the lack of data and measurables when referencing some of the things we’re talking about,” Suvarna said. “I feel like we’re … putting the cart in front of the horse right now and trying to figure out what best practices are after we’ve already implemented them.”  

Jones told Suvarna that MCPS is in the assessment phase for many of the initiatives, including the district-wide implementation of mandatory IDs.  

“So, there’s a wide variety of things that are occurring, and I agree that it’s not moving very fast,” Jones said. “We need to come back to the board and Dr. Taylor with our final assessment that suggests that these are the best practices.” 

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