ACTION BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HOWARD COUNTY MEETING AGENDA ITEM TITLE: Hate Bias Crimes grant for Wilde Lake High School DATE: December 5, 2019 Marcy L. Leonard, Principal and Brett Molin, Assistant Principal, WLHS, and Thomas PRESENTER(S): McNeal, Office of Safety & Security Strategic Call To Action Alignment: Organizational culture and climate are supportive and nurturing and provide a safe and healthy environment for all students and staff. OVERVIEW: Per HCPSS Policy 4000 Grants, approval is sought for a new grant from the Maryland Center for School Safety that will support the needs of the Wilde Lake community as identified by school and district leadership. Grant funding will be leveraged by school staff for several initiatives designed to enhance security in, and around, the school building and enhance professional learning for staff on school safety and restorative practices. The qualifications for the grant include previous hate and bias incidents located within a 5-mile radius and for identified gaps in school safety measures specific to WLHS. The grant will also help to ensure compliance with evolving safety standards for the response and prevention of Hate Bias Crimes. HCPSS was awarded $110,000.00 for FY2020. Attachments are identified as follows: Attachment A Grant Application and Attachment B- Budget. RECOMMENDATION/FUTURE DIRECTION: Approve acceptance of funds from the Maryland Center for School Safety for use at Wilde Lake High School, with guidance from the Office of Safety and Security. SUBMITTED BY: APPROVAL/CONCURRENCE: Marcy Leonard Michael J. Martirano, Ed.D. Principal, WLHS Superintendent Brett Molin Karalee Turner Little Assistant Principal Deputy Superintendent Thomas McNeal Director Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response Double Click to Add Header Office of Grants, Policy & Strategy Wilde Lake High School Hate Bias Crimes, Maryland Center for School Safety Grant In 2017, the General Assembly enacted a State Grant Program for Schools and Child Care Centers at Risk of Hate Crimes or Attacks (2017, Ch. 732). The law was amended by the Maryland Safe to Learn Act of 2018, and now codified at Md. Code Ann., Education Art., § 7-1505. Funds are provided to schools determined to be at risk of hate and bias crimes to enhance school safety. An eligible institution must be located within a 5 mile radius of a reported hate crime incident. Incidents must have occurred in last (3) years. The items requested answer the direct needs identified by school and district leadership both by notation of previous hate and bias incidents located near and in WLHS, and for general gaps in application of school safety measures endemic to WLHS, and in compliance with evolving safety standards for the response and prevention of Hate Bias Crimes. These include: Camera and monitoring equipment Enhanced lighting in parking lot Temporary school security staff Increased training in CPR and other emergency responses for school staff Expanded staff availability for restorative justice activities. HCPSS was awarded $110,000.00. Performance period ends June 30, 2020. Renewal is possible in 2022. Additional questions not resolved by this document submission and Board of Education Action item may be addressed to Kelly Powers, Grant/Project Manager. Double Click to Add Header FY20 Hate Bias Crimes Grant Application Wilde Lake High School, Howard County Public School System Requested: $162,200 (NOTE: amount changed to $110,000.00) A. Statement of Need Narrative Incidents of hate and bias are significant obstacles to equity in education. Moreover, these incidents and crimes interrupt students’ ability to develop their full academic and social potential, and to maximize the investment made by the Maryland Department of Education. It is encouraging to have the State leadership commit to translational approaches to school safety. This helps cultivate large-scale approaches to be adopted and applied to schools at the local level, and returned in the same manner. The effectiveness of responses to hate crime and/or incidents of hate or bias rely on comprehensive supports from State and school. With funding available from the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) via the Maryland Safe to Learn Act of 2018, the Howard County Public School System requests $162,200.00 for activities and materials to enhance school safety against incidents in Hate Bias Crimes at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, MD. The items requested answer the direct needs identified by school and district leadership both by notation of previous hate and bias incidents located near and in WLHS, and for general gaps in application of school safety measures endemic to WLHS, and in compliance with evolving safety standards for the response and prevention of Hate Bias Crimes. These include: Camera and monitoring equipment Enhanced lighting in parking lot Temporary school security staff Increased training in CPR and other emergency responses for school staff Expanded staff availability for restorative justice activities. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” In Maryland, the most recent Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data shows 48 hate crimes during 2017, with 12 of those motivated by religious bias. That same year, UCR data reported by the Department of Justice that, of the more than 1,500 hate bias incidents reported nationally in 2017, more than 20 percent were motivated by religious bias. In the annual National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 25 percent of students reported seeing hate- related graffiti in their schools (2015). That same survey also revealed that the majority of students who reported being a target of hate-related words attended suburban schools. Howard County Police Department confirmed (26) incidents of hate and/or bias crimes within 5-mile radius of WLHS and within the last three years. The Wilde Lake High School is located in Columbia, a suburban part of Howard County, Maryland, and is located equidistant between D.C. and Baltimore. Like many other public schools located in suburban communities, WLHS is increasingly likely to be the most diverse, with majority white student enrollments giving way to an influx of students from a variety of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Opened in 1971, WLHS was the first high school built in Columbia. In 1996, a replacement building replaced the former. WLHS is a place where diversity excels. More than 72 countries are represented by the student body. These students bring with them a rich mixture of cultures and talents that contribute to a global school community. Current enrollment:1,291. Graduation rate (2017): 83%. WLHS students have access to a rigorous curriculum at all levels: Advanced Placement and Gifted and Talented courses, Career Academies, English Language Learners, Project Lead the Way and Special Education programs. Led by Principal Marcy Leonard and four assistant principals, the staff are collaborates to help students gain knowledge and skills Double Click to Add Header needed to achieve academic and social success in a diverse world and to prepare them for post graduate college and career opportunities. A Ninth Grade Interdisciplinary Team implements transitional activities for incoming ninth grade students to support academic and emotional success. WLHS has also been recognized by the state for its character education program, which emphasizes Respect, Opportunity, Attendance, and Responsibility (ROAR), as well as their evolving Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Recently, WLHS programming in PBIS won a Gold Medal from PBIS Maryland. Under classifications for students receiving special services: 46% of students qualify for Free/reduced lunch, 6% Limited English proficiency, and 11% Special education. WLHS is also a heightened component of the Superintendent’s proposed redistricting plan for FY2021, which would dramatically change the population mix at WLHS. Under the current redistricting plan – to relieve over-crowding and provide equitable opportunities for students from low income households -- Wilde Lake High School would receive hundreds of students from River Hill High School, and would reduce the number of students from low income household to an estimated 38 percent. The Statement of Need addresses the target population and geographical area to be served: a. Latest statistical data that documents the problem at WLHS: Data Points Total Number of all incidents FY19 in need of referrals 666 Number of incidents involving students in fight 25 Number of incidents involving students in physical attack 5 Number of incidents involving a weapon 3 b. Efforts to address the problem: restorative justice events use of anti-bullying efforts and online form via Sprigeo positive behavioral interventions and supports school resource officers district emergency option plan coverage of school site during emergencies emergency and other training for staff and teachers site assessment of school and grounds for recommendations for improved safety consistent connections to area resources: police, mental health, etc. c. Collated by Howard County Public School System, chart of actual hate crimes within last (3) years at Wilde Lake High School. Previous documentation of hate bias crimes were not noted in standard