Howard County Councilmember Deb Jung has filed an amendment to CR112-2019 that if passed would significantly change the resolution. Here are some of the highlights of the amendment:

Title change:

Currently:

A RESOLUTION requesting the Howard County Public School System to draft, approve, and implement a lawful multi-year Integration Plan to ensure that Howard County Public Schools are integrated by socioeconomic factors.

New:

A RESOLUTION supporting the establishment of a Task Force comprised of community stakeholders to examine housing policy and socioeconomic factors that impact student achievement in Howard County Public Schools, and requesting the Task Force issue policy and funding recommendations to eliminate achievement gaps

Changes to WHEREAS statements:

On page 1, strike lines 1 – 20, and substitute the following:

WHEREAS, the Howard County Office of the Local Children’s Board’s report Access to Opportunity in Howard County: Making the Case for Equity (Winter 2019) states that “Howard County is often regarded as one of the best places to raise a family. The county is affluent, has great schools and programs for young people, and a high standard of living. … The county is home to diverse communities of residents who come from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds—for, example, nearly 40 percent of residents speak a language other than English and 20 percent of county residents were born in a country other than the United States; and

WHEREAS, despite the overall affluence and diversity in Howard County, there are areas of socioeconomic disparities that create challenges and obstacles to equitable opportunities for students and families; and”.

and finally:

Strike, beginning with line 26 on page 1 through the remainder of the resolution and substitute the following:

WHEREAS, past development patterns in Howard County have lacked a diversity of housing types and the County is building upon policies to expand housing affordability, diversifying housing types and their distribution throughout the county; and

WHEREAS, Howard County is proud of its diversity and inclusion and aims to ensure equitable opportunities for all its residents, regardless of background or socioeconomic status.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the County Council of Howard County, Maryland, on this day of , 2019 desires that educational achievement gaps and disparities in the schools and neighborhoods are addressed in a collaborative and multi-pronged effort that includes land-use and zoning, housing goals, transportation access, school-assignment boundaries, educational policies, and funding priorities.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Council of Howard County, Maryland, calls for the establishment of a Task Force comprised of community stakeholders and public agencies in an effort to examine achievement gaps and disparities in Howard County schools, available resources within schools, demographic and socioeconomic factors surrounding Howard County Public Schools; land-use and zoning,

These are major changes to this resolution. You can check out the original version and the amendment here: https://apps.howardcountymd.gov/olis/LegislationDetail.aspx?LegislationID=12323

One has to wonder was it all of the testimony given on this resolution…was it the national TV coverage (at minute 1:30 of the video) that quoted text from the original resolution…or something else that lead to the changes submitted in this amendment?

I have not reached out to Councilmember Deb Jung yet for a comment (on my to do list later today).

I found out about the amendment in the most recent “Deb’s District Update” email and noted in that release was the mention of CR112-2019. It states “I have sponsored an amendment to CR112 to address many of the issues that were discussed during the public hearings and work sessions.”

I am personally happy to see that the statement about “development patterns” were left in this amendment from the original version. That is an important aspect in all of this discussion.

Have thoughts about the changes….let me know in the comments on the blog or social media.

Scott E