The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will hear an update on the school system’s work to adhere to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and consider approval of two new courses at its next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
The Blueprint, approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021 and designed to make significant improvements to education for Maryland students, will be implemented over a 10-year period. At Wednesday’s meeting, staff will present updates on several areas of the Blueprint.
The Board will also consider approval of two new secondary courses, Advanced Placement African American Studies at the high school level and Apex Arts Theatre Prime 2 at the middle school level.
Additionally, the Board is scheduled to vote on approval of a contract with the New Village Academy Public Charter School, which it approved to operate earlier this year. The school is scheduled to open next fall.
The meeting begins at noon 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.
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 10:00 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 here 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 comments 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 here. 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 accessed here 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.
BOARD COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The Board of Education’s committees will hold upcoming virtual meetings according to the following schedule. The meetings will not be broadcast, but those wishing to listen to the meetings can access them by telephone through the codes listed below.
- Policy Committee: 3 p.m., October 31, 2023. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 895 380 830#.
- Equity Committee: 3 p.m., November 28. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 284 202 786#.
- Budget Committee: Noon, January 16, 2024. Call 301-960-3676, enter the Conference ID 167 431 216#.