For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
The joint Education and Culture (E&C) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 9:30 a.m. to receive an update from the Student Wellbeing Action Group (SWAG) and discuss the Reimagining School Safety and Student Wellbeing Initiative (RSSSW).
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair and Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Evan Glass (Lead for Homelessness & Vulnerable Communities) and Craig Rice.
The members of the E&C Committee include Chair Craig Rice and Councilmembers Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Nancy Navarro.
More detail on the agenda is provided below.
Student Wellness Action Group/Reimagining School Safety and Student Wellbeing
Briefing: The joint E&C and HHS Committee will receive an update from the Student Wellness Action Group (SWAG), which is a working group launched by Councilmembers Jawando and Rice to address disparities in student arrests and discipline in schools and to improve student wellbeing.
In addition, the joint Committee will receive an update from RSSSW, which is an interagency collaborative effort between the Offices of the County Executive, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), and the County Council. This initiative is designed to rethink and reshape public safety in schools and provide social and mental health support for our students.
The RSSSW steering committee includes a variety of representatives from the aforementioned partners and will now incorporate students as well. This meeting will focus on requested curriculum changes, restorative justice recommendations, recommendations on mental health supports for students and MCPS’ response to school specific recommendations.
Those expected to attend and provide information from MCPS include Jimmy D’Andrea, chief of staff; Niki Hazel, associate superintendent of curriculum and instructional programs; Shauna-Kay Jorandby, director of student engagement, Behavioral Health and Academics; and Kyson Taylor, SWAG co-chair and student. Those expected to attend from DHHS include Dr. Rolando Santiago, chief of behavioral health and crisis services; Monica Martin, administrator, Child and Adolescent School and Community Based Services; and JoAnn Barnes, contractor.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
The Council and committees are meeting via Zoom this fall because of ongoing construction and technology upgrades in the Council's Hearing Room and the inability to conduct meetings in a socially distant way in other areas of the Council Office Building with television broadcast capacity. Councilmembers will continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.
The virtual Council and committee meetings will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 21-454