Wyn Delano
WMAL.com

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — (WMAL) The proposed new absence policy, formally known as Policy KEA, would allow high school students in Montgomery County three excused school days participate in both political campaigns and so-called “civic engagement activities,” as long as the student obtains permission from both their parents and the school ahead of time.

School board member Patricia O’Neill, who also heads the board’s policy management committee that marked up the measure’s latest draft, says that the policy is about standardizing what was already happening in the county’s twenty-five high schools.

“Last year and the previous year we had quite a bit of student activism,” O’Neill told WMAL. “There was, sort of, unequal handling of the situation from school to school.”

The policy, as currently written, would allow students to work for a political campaign at the request of the candidate, engage in civic activities such as testifying in Annapolis or taking part in a demonstration, as well as allow students to distribute printed materials advocating or opposing a candidate on school grounds under certain conditions.

O’Neill says the policy, however, is not carte blanche for students to disrupt the school day:

“We have had student walk-outs. We had them last spring following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. We had it following the election of President Trump and we’re not talking about students walking out of school or disrupting school days. This is organized participation with pre-approval from parents, pre-approval from the principal, and up to three times per year.”

Previously the school board unanimously approved that the policy go before public comment. However, O’Neill’s committee has made several changes to the proposed text as a result of those hearings. Specifically, her committee added language that encouraged schools to have students reflect on their civic engagement back in the classroom as well as remove a rule that would have restricted students’ work on campaigns to two weeks prior to a primary or general election.

“The discussion of the policy committee has been, ‘why two weeks?’,” O’Neill revealed. “I mean, we have the restriction that students can only take three days per year for civic engagement, so what was magic about two years prior to an election?”

The board is scheduled to take final action on the policy during a meeting at 4:20 PM today. Board members could either vote the proposal through or send it back for more mark-ups and discussion. though it is possible that the proposal will be changed during the meeting and be voted through in a different form. Whatever happens, O’Neill hopes that it happens soon as students have expressed to her a desire for the policy to apply to this school year, which is already underway.

“People criticize millennials as not being civically engaged, not voting in very high numbers,” O’Neill said. “And really, civic responsibility is one of the main purposes of public education.”

If the board votes the policy through, it will take effect immediately. Superintendent Jack Smith would be in charge of drafting specific regulations for county principals to use that would apply to this school year. O’Neill also insists that as part of the policy, Montgomery County Public Schools will maintain a “viewpoint-neutral position” with regards to any proposed political activity.

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