PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — In just under three minutes, with no discussion and three unanimous votes, the Board of Education reversed anti-racism initiatives in Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS).
In approving the student code of conduct for the 2025-26 year, the board voted to remove the anti-racism resolution from the student code of conduct. Additionally, they instructed that the language be removed from the district’s websites and all social media channels. Then, the board voted to revisit the district’s formal anti-racism policy, 1018, ahead of its regularly scheduled review time. The policy will now come up for discussion at the August meeting.
Board President Jana Smith-Post prefaced the votes by saying that as an internal document and not a policy, the code of conduct — and therefore the anti-racism resolution — did not require a 30-day comment period.
She explained that the previously seated board had not held a discussion period for adding the resolution, nor had they invited public comment except via email. The approval for that code of conduct took place on June 11, 2020, during an audio-only conference call, and the anti-racism resolution was added later by staff. The previously seated board then requested that the district publish the resolution online.
This information was used to justify removing the resolution from the websites and social media channels. The board did not provide a timeline for how the district should go about this.
As there was no discussion, there was also no clear reason given as to why the board chose to remove the anti-racism resolution. However, this decision comes at a time when the federal government is actively working to remove “DEI” from public institutions, though without discussion by board members, there is no information on whether this decision was meant to align with federal initiatives.
Students and their guardians can view the redlined code of conduct here.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
So sad
No reason as to why??
So what does this really mean?