(BALTIMORE, MD., – 8/21/2023) The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released dozens of new documents from within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), along with two sworn affidavits, which show that the school district has misled families and a federal court about what it is teaching inside English classes, how it plans to treat students who express traditional or religious views, and why it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year.
SEE: MCPS Document: Teacher Responses to Possible Student Questions
SEE: MCPS Document: Teacher Responses to Possible Questions from Parents, Community Members
[NOTE: At 3:30 pm on August 21, 2023, CAIR plans to host a virtual media availability to highlight key aspects of the documents and answer questions. Reporters can contact CAIR Communications Manager Ismail Allison for a link to the meeting at iallison@cair.com.]
In response to a new open records request, CAIR has obtained the full version of teacher discussion guides that the MCPS elementary school principals union referenced and expressed concern about in a November 2022 memo.
In the guides CAIR obtained, MCPS makes it clear that English teachers are expected to teach concepts related to gender, family life and relationships, contrary to claims MCPS has made in federal court. Teachers are told to scold, debate or “disrupt the either/or thinking” of only students who express traditional viewpoints or ask critical questions about those topics.
CAIR is also releasing two sworn affidavits and over 100 pages of internal MCPS emails which contradict the school district’s recent claim to a federal court that it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year because too many students opted out.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“It is now clear that Montgomery County Public Schools has not been honest with families, members of the public or the federal district court about three critical issues: what it is teaching Pre-K -12 students in English classes, why it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year, and how teachers will treat students who express traditional or religious views in response to the new curriculum.
“MCPS has repeatedly claimed that PreK – 12 English teachers are only using books featuring a greater diversity of characters without delivering any formal instruction about concepts that normally arise in sex education courses. MCPS has also claimed that students will not be criticized or penalized if they express traditional or religious views in the classroom.
“We now know that none of this is true. The documents we are releasing today clearly contradict the false claims that MCPS has made over the past several months. Contrary to its claims, MCPS has indeed instructed Pre-K through 12 English teachers to teach detailed concepts that would normally arise in sex education courses and then scold, debate or silence only children who express traditional or religious views about those topics. This is wrong. So is MCPS’ decision to mislead the public and a federal court about why it canceled the opt-out option earlier this year.”
In a statement, Montgomery County Muslim Council outreach director Hisham Garti said:
“We are deeply concerned by the inconsistent claims that Montgomery County Public Schools has made to the public and in a court of law. It appears that MCPS has spent months providing inconsistent and contradictory explanations about canceling the opt-out option because it does not have a good explanation for canceling the opt-out option. We hope the sworn affidavits provided will ensure that MCPS tells the truth, not only in court but to parents and members of the public.”
BACKGROUND
CAIR today joined Montgomery Muslim Council in expressing concern that MCPS misled a federal judge about why the school district announced plans to cancel the opt-out option in the 2023-2024 school year.
In a court filing last month, Montgomery County Public Schools told the federal court overseeing a lawsuit filed by Becket Fund on behalf of three MCPS families that it had canceled the opt-out option earlier this year because the large number of students using the option had created disruptions.
But according to a sworn affidavit provided by Montgomery Muslim Council (MCM), MCPS gave a completely different explanation about its reason for canceling opt-out in a private meeting with Muslim leaders in May.
SEE: Montgomery Muslim Council’s Affidavit
In a separate affidavit signed by CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw, he noted that MCPS officials never mentioned concerns about the number of students opting out in over 100 pages of internal emails and other documents provided to CAIR in response to an open records request.
SEE: CAIR’s Affidavit
Montgomery County 360 has also reported that the school district was unable to substantiate its claim in response to the media outlet’s open records request. Instead, MCPS admitted that it does not have any data, numbers, or other responsive documents related to the number of students opting out of curriculum during the 2022-2023 school year.
SEE: How many MCPS families requested an LGBTQ+ opt-out?
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La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, 410-971-6062, zchaudry@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com