2026-10-15 - Education, Youth, & Older Adults

00:03Good afternoon everybody and welcome

00:06here to the meeting of the education

00:07youth and older adults committee today.

00:10Before we begin I want to let everyone

00:12know that today's hearing is being

00:14translated simultaneously into Spanish

00:16and we would ask everyone speaking today

00:19including me as I slow down to slow down

00:22just a touch to assist with that

00:24translation.

00:26Those online can access simultaneous

00:28translation by clicking on the globe

00:30button in the bottom left corner of

00:34WebEx uh if you are on a computer or by

00:37selecting Spanish at the bottom of your

00:38phone screen. And we have simultaneous

00:41translation technology available for

00:43anyone in the chamber who would like to

00:45make use of it. In addition, we have two

00:48translators in the chamber for

00:49individuals who would like to testify in

00:52Spanish. If they could raise their

00:53hands. Who's here today?

00:56She's doing both.

00:58>> She's doing both. She's over. Yes. All

00:59right. Very good. Um, if you would like

01:02to testify in Spanish, please let one of

01:03our translators know when you make your

01:05way up to the podium. I'm going repeat

01:07that in Spanish.

01:30We

01:35Spanish

01:48interpret

01:55Okay.

02:14Welcome to this meeting again of the

02:15Education Youth and Older Adults

02:16Committee. I'm Mark Parker, chair of the

02:17committee and representative of the

02:19city's first district. I am joined today

02:21by our vice chair, Councilwoman Odet

02:24Ramos of the 14th district.

02:25>> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

02:26>> And I know uh Council Person Germaine

02:28Jones is with us online um as he travels

02:31um out of uh out of state today.

02:34We also have representatives from the

02:35mayor's office and council president's

02:37office here today. Thank you all for

02:38being with us. Um and committee staff

02:40from the office of council services,

02:42Julianne Jamat. Thank you, Julianne.

02:46We are also joined by Dan Rabbit,

02:48director of policy at Behavioral Health

02:49Systems Baltimore, as well as Rhonda

02:51Cox, director of family services and uh

02:54director of services and uh Tara Tren

02:57Tarantine Tarantine, senior family

03:00services coordinator, supervisor at St.

03:02Vincent Depal of Baltimore. They will

03:03offer remarks and be available for

03:05questions.

03:06Today the committee is meeting to

03:07discuss council bill 25

03:10uh-42Rformational

03:12hearing impact of federal immigration

03:14enforcement on city students for the

03:17purpose of inviting representatives from

03:18Baltimore City public school system the

03:20health department the mayor's office of

03:22children and family success the mayor's

03:24office of immigrant affairs and any and

03:26any interested stakeholders to appear

03:28before the city council to discuss the

03:30impact that escalated federal

03:31immigration enforcement is having on

03:33city students.

03:38Thank you to Vice Chair Ramos and my

03:39colleagues who co-sponsored to city

03:41schools, the agencies, the mayor's

03:42office, community partners, and everyone

03:44who is here to continue this important

03:46conversation that we began formally in

03:48this place in the summertime.

03:51At our first hearing in July, we heard

03:53from educators, providers, advocates,

03:55and young people in our community about

03:57the significant and mounting fear and

04:00uncertainty caused by the lawless and

04:01violent federal immigration enforcement

04:04we are witnessing in our communities.

04:06We have heard about the anxiety and

04:08anticipatory grief children feel when

04:11their parents leave the home, even for

04:13something as routine as running errands

04:15or going to the doctor.

04:17We heard how the daily trauma of living

04:19under the threat of enforcement

04:20compounds the trauma many immigrant

04:22families have already experienced in

04:24their home countries or on their

04:25journeys here, making it that much

04:27harder to heal.

04:30We heard how this fear is changing

04:32childhood itself, limiting opportunities

04:34for social interaction, keeping children

04:36closer to home, and changing how they

04:38spend their time.

04:40We heard about toxic stress and the

04:41lasting effects of chronic anxiety on

04:43individuals nervous systems, physical

04:45health, mental health, and long-term

04:47development.

04:49And we heard that immigrant families are

04:50losing trust in their local government

04:52because they no longer feel safe in

04:53their home communities.

04:56Those were the experiences we heard

04:57about in July. Today, we are here to

05:00continue the conversation and deepen our

05:01understanding of what these impacts look

05:03like across city schools. We want to

05:06better understand what the data can tell

05:08us about student enrollment, attendance,

05:10performance, and other indicators across

05:12recent semesters.

05:14Thank you to everyone who is here that

05:16is helping us understand what we are

05:17witnessing and determine where and how

05:20we need to continue to adjust our

05:22response.

05:24I'd like to turn it over to Vice Chair

05:25Ramos for her remarks.

05:29>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, and just for

05:31everybody to know, this is Mr. chair's

05:33first meeting as chair of this

05:34committee. So um congratulations and um

05:38we'll uh heckle you as necessary. Uh

05:41[laughter]

05:43um and thank you also for making space

05:45for this conversation. Uh it is

05:47extremely important that we continue to

05:49have it and uh that people feel uh that

05:52talking to us uh will get results and uh

05:57having people in the room hear the same

05:58stories that we are hearing uh on the

06:01ground and with our communities is

06:02extremely important. Uh we are joined

06:04here by uh lots of students and uh

06:08because it is a half day at school, I'm

06:09so glad that they chose to spend time

06:12with us this afternoon. um they could

06:14have been anywhere,

06:16but they're here to defend their res

06:19their their families and their friends

06:22and talk about what's going on in in the

06:24schools. And I think that's very

06:25powerful and we do need to acknowledge

06:27that. It is extremely important that our

06:30students are here to talk about what's

06:32happening. Um and hearing their voices

06:34and making space for their voices is

06:36extremely important. I'm also interested

06:38in a lot of what uh Mr. chair talked

06:40about in terms of uh the impact on

06:43enrollment and what other things that we

06:45should be doing um both as city

06:47government and as city schools and all

06:49of our partners here should be doing to

06:52make sure that every family that every

06:54student um feels safe in in school on

06:58school grounds and on the way to school

07:01uh so that we get uh our all of our

07:04students get the worldclass education

07:06that they deserve. every single student

07:09gets that world-class education that

07:11they deserve. So, I'm grateful for this

07:13conversation and that people took so

07:14much time this afternoon to spend uh

07:16with us and looking forward to the

07:18conversation. Thank you.

07:21>> Thank you, Madame Vice Chair.

07:23Um as the vice chair mentioned, uh we

07:25are joined by many students who are with

07:26us today um AC from across the city of

07:29Baltimore. We're grateful for them and

07:30for uh the adults who helped them uh get

07:33here and encourage them uh to testify

07:36and support them in that. Uh at this

07:38point, we'll start with public testimony

07:39and we'll begin with those students to

07:41make sure that in a hearing about the

07:43impact of federal immigration

07:44enforcement on Baltimore City students

07:45that we first hear from Baltimore City

07:47students. Um and then we'll hear from

07:50those uh present in the chamber based on

07:51the order in which you signed up and

07:53finally those who wish to testify

07:54virtually. Each member of the public

07:56will be recognized for two minutes.

08:04Thank you, Julianne.

08:06Uh, we begin with Joselyn Dwarte

08:11and following that, just so they're

08:12ready, will be Anthony Diaz.

08:23Um, as you approach uh the microphone,

08:26you'll see on the microphone itself

08:28there's two buttons. You'll use the

08:30right hand button and it'll light up red

08:32just like this. And this will also light

08:33up red.

08:36Perfect.

08:39Good afternoon. Thank you for being here

08:41supporting our students. My name is

08:42Jordan Dwarte. I'm a student from

08:43Frederick D High School, former City

08:45College High School student. Before I

08:47start, this is a personal experience.

08:50At the beginning of the year when it was

08:51still cold, my mother and I went food

08:53shopping in the evening. On the way

08:55back, when we were just one minute from

08:57our house, my mother's car size began to

08:59slide and the brakes were not able to be

09:00controlled. Because the bars were too

09:02icy, the car began to slit. We started

09:05panicking, screaming because we were

09:06scared. There was cars in front of us.

09:08My mother turned the wheel to the side

09:10as much as she could to avoid the other

09:11cars coming. And we barely missed

09:13hitting a car by a couple of inches. Our

09:16car went to the grass and we hit an

09:17apartment sign. After it happened, we

09:20were in shock and completely quiet. As

09:22my mother was crying in shock, I asked

09:23if she was okay and if anything hurt. I

09:25as I asked if she wanted to call 911 and

09:28she hesitated and said no because she

09:30was scared.

09:33Minutes later, a police car passed by

09:35and stopped. I felt relieved since I

09:37thought I would get support. I was

09:39wrong.

09:41The policeman's first question was,

09:43"Where are you from?" with a judgmental

09:45and angry tone. My mom immediately

09:47sensed something was wrong as his tone

09:49implied that we did not belong in this

09:51country. It broke my heart that a police

09:53officer saw was crying and instead of

09:55shock and see a car at the side of the

09:57road and instead of asking if we were

09:59okay, the first thing that came to his

10:01mind was asking if we belong here. I was

10:04the one who talked to the officer since

10:05my mom was still in a state of shock. He

10:07kept asking where we were from and if we

10:09were born here.

10:11I remember thinking fast and lying,

10:13saying from Colombia to try and avoid

10:16any potential danger. After each

10:18question he asked more and more about

10:21where I was from, I kept saying at the

10:23end, we're okay. Thank you for checking,

10:25wanting him to leave. I said that about

10:27four times until he eventually left. As

10:30he left, he said quote unquote, "Maybe

10:33back in your country, it wouldn't be

10:35like this since you're not from this

10:36country."

10:38with a laugh as if it was you play with

10:40me. I fought really hard from this as

10:43well as my mom heard this and as

10:47sorry

10:49I remember as soon as he left my mother

10:51hugged me and told me how brave I was

10:52for handling the officers raised his

10:54questions this encounters destroy us the

10:57next few days I felt destroyed my mother

11:00did as well it was school days I didn't

11:03want to go I want to stay home sitting

11:04down still processing what what just

11:06happened I decided to go to school I

11:08couldn't concentrate I kept asking to

11:10use the bathroom to check myself in the

11:12mirror.

11:15I kept thinking about how hateful and

11:17hurt the war is. It affected my mental

11:19health for a long time where I kept

11:20thinking about what had just happened

11:22and began thinking day by day what would

11:24have happened if I was separated from my

11:26mother.

11:28Ever since that day, it mentally damaged

11:30me since a police officer, a person I

11:33should be able to trust instead of

11:35helping me question me if I was from

11:36this country or not instead of first

11:38asking if we were okay. This experience

11:41made me feel afraid of the police and of

11:44public speaking. It made me question who

11:46I could trust. When I go to public

11:48spaces, I try to stay away from people

11:50as I put my head down since I'm scared

11:52they're going to be the same as he was.

11:55Thank you.

11:56>> Thank you, Jordan

12:00Diaz. and then we'll have Jason

12:10uh as you come forward. I didn't mention

12:11this the first time but our but Jordan

12:13did anyway. Say your name first and then

12:15right into what you're have to say.

12:18>> Is it on?

12:19>> Okay. Dear honorable chair and members

12:22of Baltimore City Council, my name is

12:25Anthony Diaz and I attend Freddy Douglas

12:27High School.

12:29I'm here to support peers that either

12:30been directly or indirectly been

12:32affected by the presence of ICE. From my

12:35point of view, one major thing the

12:37Baltimore City Council can do to support

12:39those that are affected is to have a

12:40deeper and more interactive

12:42understanding about different

12:43experiences of students. I feel that

12:46schools should have people that directly

12:49support students that encounter ICE,

12:50specifically more bilingual staff to

12:54better connect with the students that

12:55need assistance or resources.

12:59Thank you, Mr. Diaz.

13:00>> Thank you,

13:04>> Jason. And then next will be Joshua

13:07Fenwick.

13:11>> Do I press the button or shoot? Sorry.

13:15Um, dear honorable chair and members of

13:17the Baltimore City Council, I am a

13:20student who has an interest in logic

13:21alongside which I have studied analytic

13:23philosophy. This is why I believe I can

13:25provide an interpretation of the 14th

13:28amendment. In brief, the 14th amendment

13:30enshrines into our constitution that any

13:33individual has the right to due process

13:35alongside equal protection which entails

13:38education for the young persons among

13:40the final clauses of the 14th amendment.

13:42Nor shall any person any state deprive

13:44any person of the life, liberty or

13:46property without to process the law. Nor

13:50deny to any person within jurisdiction

13:52the equal protection of laws.

13:55It should hold self-evident the

13:57application of the use of the word any

13:59any paired any paired with the word

14:02person any person. This necessarily

14:04entails the inclusion of na

14:06non-naturalized and those who are

14:07naturalized. Therefore, as the 14th

14:09amendment admits, it is unconstitutional

14:12to deny any person of due process. This

14:14too is applicable to our education

14:17as it is a constitutional right for an

14:19individual within the United States of

14:21America to pursue education regardless

14:23of whether they have been naturalized.

14:25For the word any is an indefinite

14:27pronoun, meaning it lacks reference to a

14:30particular individual or a particular

14:32set of individuals. Thank you.

14:35>> Thank you very much, Jason.

14:38Uh, we have Joshua and then we'll have

14:40Elbert.

14:47Hello, my name is Joshua Fenwick. I

14:49attend Frederick Douglas High School.

14:52School is supposed to be a place where

14:53our biggest worry is an upcoming exam,

14:55something as simple as a missing

14:56assignment. But for many students across

14:58Baltimore, the worry starts the second

15:00they step out their front door.

15:02Take the case of Doulce Consuelo Diaz

15:04Morales, a 22-year-old woman who was

15:06detained by ICE right here in Baltimore,

15:08Maryland in December 2025. Despite the

15:11fact that she had a Maryland birth

15:12certificate, ICE disputed her

15:14documentation, meaning they actively

15:17refused to accept her proof of

15:18citizenship. This shows the terrifying

15:20reality of being a person of Hispanic

15:22heritage in today's society. Just not

15:24having an immediate way to identify

15:26yourself can lead to the wrongful

15:27detention of people born in this very

15:29state. I believe the district should

15:31help families and spread awareness that

15:33every student should have a

15:34schoolisssued student ID and some sort

15:36of safety plan discussed prior for the

15:39protection of our students. Thank you.

15:42Thank you very much Joshua. We have

15:45Elbert and then we'll have Samir.

15:56Dear honorable chair and members of the

15:58Baltimore City Council, my name is

16:00Elbert Perez. I am a student at

16:02Frederick Douglas High School. I came

16:04here to speak on the impacts of ICE and

16:07Baltimore City students, families, and

16:09school communities. ICE has impacted

16:12many of our students in our Baltimore

16:14City community and around the world,

16:16making students like myself feel unsafe

16:18at school or on their way to school.

16:21Every student deserves to feel safe and

16:23focused on their education. Our rights

16:26also support this in the 14th amendment,

16:28including the Piler versus D case, which

16:31explains students deserves the right to

16:33obtain education regardless of their

16:36race. When immigration creates fear

16:39among students, it causes them to worry

16:42for their parents or loved ones.

16:45Disinforcement also affects their

16:47attendance, mental well-being, and their

16:50academic performance at school. I have

16:53seen this happen firsthand, firsthand.

16:56When a parent was was once detained by

16:59ICE, their family and students were in

17:01fear of going out because they were also

17:03afraid of being detained by ICE.

17:07Something we should do is school

17:09absences should be excused if it is

17:11immigration related appointments or ICE

17:14detainments, deportation on a family

17:17member. Students should be given the

17:19ability to be excused as many times as a

17:22death in a family. I believe school

17:25should be a place for students to feel

17:27safe, supported, and welcomed regardless

17:31of their immigration status or

17:32backgrounds. Every student should be

17:35given the opportunity to succeed without

17:37fear. Thank you.

17:40>> Thank you very much, Albert. We have

17:43Samir and then we have Justin.

17:53Dear honorable chair and members of the

17:56Baltimore City Council, my name is Samir

17:58Perez. I attend Frederick Douglas High

18:00School. I'm here to speak about the

18:02impact that ICE has on the community.

18:05Many parents are afraid of dropping

18:07their kids off at school. Due to the

18:09fear of them getting detained by ICE,

18:12this takes a certain toll on the parents

18:14mental health as well as their children.

18:17The problem this creates is students

18:18start to miss school more frequently and

18:21parents start missing work as well. This

18:23is a problem for society because there's

18:25less enrollment in schools and students

18:27are at risk of failing their classes and

18:29falling behind on graduating on time.

18:32Another problem that this creates for

18:34society is if parents are are calling

18:36off work multiple days a week. Other

18:39employees will have to work overtime due

18:41to the low productivity of employees.

18:45School districts should take this issue

18:47seriously because it can affect

18:49enrollment which could which would

18:51affect the whole district. Some [snorts]

18:53ways the school district can help

18:55students is by hiring more bilingual

18:57staff and working with families to

18:59connect them with resources. Thank you.

19:03[clears throat]

19:04>> Thank you very much Samir. Uh before we

19:06have Justin come up just I was so uh so

19:09focused on our people testifying. Madam

19:12Vice President Sharon Green Middleton,

19:13thank you so much for joining us today.

19:14>> Thank you. Sorry for my late.

19:16>> No, glad to have you. Very glad to have

19:18you. Um, so again, we'll have Justin and

19:21then Nehemiah.

19:27>> Hello. Hello. Okay. My name is Justin

19:30Payne Jr. coming from the historic

19:32Frederick Douglas High School on behalf

19:33of my peers affected by ICE. And if I

19:35can do anything to support, I will.

19:37There needs to be a process of

19:38recognition and protection not only for

19:40students but also for the parents,

19:41teachers and the families. There is no

19:43line of separation and we are all equal.

19:46Everyone needs to realize that it

19:47doesn't need to be a studentled protest.

19:49It needs to be a schoolwide

19:50collaboration to broaden their urgency

19:51and awareness of the effects of ICE.

19:53Thank you.

19:55>> Thank you very much, Justin. We have

19:58Nehemiah coming up next.

20:05Dear honorable chairs of the Baltimore

20:07City Council, I Nemiah Ford amic Douglas

20:11High. When you think of school, you

20:14think of a place that builds and

20:15nurtures you. But due to the aggressive

20:18and unjustified behavior of ICE, my feel

20:21my peers feel extremely uncomfortable

20:23attending school. This deeply bothers me

20:26because I know that anyone, regardless

20:28of skin or appearance, should have the

20:29right to get the education that they're

20:31promised to get by attending Frederick

20:33Frederick Douglas High. The feeling of

20:36uncomfort dismantles everything that the

20:38idea of learning should bring. How can

20:40we expect any student to want to learn

20:43when they feel as though they're in

20:44danger 24/7? A constant restless feeling

20:47that knocks at your that knocks your

20:49heart loose with every aching moment.

20:51Tell me, how would that make you feel?

20:54There's many things that need to be

20:56changed involving the situation, but one

20:58of one of the things that one of the

21:00most important things that need to be

21:01changed is attendance. It has already

21:03been said, but I'll reiterate it. Give

21:05students that have been affected by ICE

21:07the same treatment as a student that's

21:09dealing with the death of a family

21:10member. Because when ICE strikes your

21:13family, you'll never truly know if

21:15you're going to see them again. This

21:17destruction of community is something

21:19that only urgency and action can heal. I

21:21can't keep seeing empty rows of seats

21:23that are where my friends are supposed

21:25to be. That is all.

21:28>> Thank you, Nehemiah.

21:30Uh, we'll call up Kimberly and then

21:32Frana.

21:45[clears throat] Dear honorable chair and

21:46members of the Baltimore City Council,

21:48my name is Kimberly and I'm a student at

21:51Baltimore City College and I am speaking

21:52on the impacts of ICE on Baltimore City

21:55students, families, and communities.

21:58December 19th is a day I will never

22:00forget. On that day, my family and I

22:03were stopped by Immigration and Customs

22:04Enforcement officers, an encounter that

22:07led to the deportation of my grandpa,

22:09aunt, and my aunt's boyfriend. Me and my

22:12grandma were also in the car and we were

22:14left behind only because I was underage.

22:17I will never forget the way those

22:18officers treated my family like

22:20criminals, deprived them of medication

22:22while they were detained, and denied

22:24them of any real food. Instead, my aunt

22:27was repeatedly fed raw lentil beans,

22:29which caused her to lose 20 pounds

22:30during her detention.

22:33I will never forget the desperation and

22:35pain they caused my family, and I will

22:37most certainly not forget the way they

22:38split my family apart. My grandma, one

22:41of the many pillars in my family, had to

22:42leave the United States, not only

22:44because of the encounter, but also out

22:46of fear. All of my family members and

22:48people in my community, have also began

22:50to set up plans if they're ever

22:52detained. After the encounter, I became

22:54increasingly anxious and aware of my

22:56surroundings. I constantly checked on my

22:58parents and worried about their safety,

23:00often reliving the events of that day.

23:03There were times where my fear became

23:05overwhelming and I was afraid to let my

23:07family go anywhere alone because I was

23:08worried the same thing could happen

23:10again. Fortunately, I had an incredible

23:12support system at school that helped me

23:14with these emotions and reminded me that

23:16I was not alone. Both of my parents were

23:18also a big help during this as well. I

23:21know they were hurting, too. So, them

23:22putting me first showed me how much they

23:24care. However, I often think about other

23:27Hispanic students in Baltimore who have

23:28faced similar experiences without access

23:30to the same support. My school has four

23:33full-time counselors, one full-time

23:35school psychologist, and two full-time

23:37social workers. But I know that so many

23:39other schools in the district don't have

23:41the same amount of resources I was

23:43given. Their struggles remind me that

23:45the fear ICE inflicts not only on

23:47parents, but affects students as well.

23:50For these reasons, I respectfully urge

23:52the committee to have safer areas around

23:54school and in general public areas.

23:56develop a plan for student mental

23:57health, have verified ICE sightings, and

24:00make students have excused absences for

24:02any immigration related issues.

24:05Thank you for your time and

24:06consideration.

24:09>> Thank you, Kimberly.

24:11We have Franca and then Anna Maderos.

24:17>> Hello everyone. My name is Franco

24:19Mueller Pass. I'm an educator at

24:21Baltimore City College and a member of

24:23the Baltimore Teachers Union. and thank

24:25you so much for hosting this important

24:27hearing. Um, I know that uh there are

24:30already not many dry eyes in this room

24:32given the stories of our young people. I

24:34want to share the story of all the work

24:36that uh our young people have been doing

24:38for years to advocate for immigrant

24:41students. For over a decade, Somos has

24:44been advocating to make sure that

24:46students have fair and equal

24:47opportunities at school. and their

24:50parents have been advocating to make

24:52sure that they can communicate with

24:53schools. And I see people that have

24:56worked here very hard to try to make

24:57sure that they can support our families

24:59and our students. But there is still so

25:02much work to be done. We continue to see

25:05parents that struggle to be able to have

25:07basic communication with schools. At our

25:10school where we have nearly four 500

25:13Spanish-sp speakaking parents, we don't

25:15have a single ESL para educator of

25:18English language development.

25:21There are so many schools like ours that

25:23have incredible immigrant communities

25:25that need support so that these parents

25:28can know what is happening in their

25:30school, how they can participate in the

25:32PTA, how they can join in events, how

25:34they can see how their kids are doing in

25:36class. These parents are going through

25:38so much, but they still want to be able

25:41to be a regular parent, and we must give

25:43them the tools to do so. We also know

25:46that our school system has been trying

25:49to make the system for educational

25:51opportunities at our school to be just

25:53and fair. And I thank all the people in

25:56this room who have worked towards that

25:57end. But unfortunately, we still see a

26:01pattern in middle school, high school

26:03choice,

26:05high school choice to truly see the

26:08opportunity for our students receiving

26:11English language development services to

26:14be able to access those programs fairly.

26:16It is not fair and it is against their

26:19rights for students to be denied

26:21educational opportunity based on the

26:23languages that they speak. So, I ask for

26:26a few things. One is an audit of high

26:30school choice and middle school choice

26:32when it comes to uh access for these

26:35populations of students and to please

26:37support more bilingual educators,

26:39secretary staff and ESOL um sorry

26:42English language development uh para

26:44educators and educators across our

26:46schools with immigrant family

26:47populations. Thank you so much.

26:50>> Thank you very much.

26:52We have Anna and then we'll have

26:56I'm gonna I'm gonna think about the

26:57handwriting for a second. I'll let you

26:59know in a minute. Anna.

27:01>> Hello. Um my name is Anna. Uh I am a ELD

27:06pareducator

27:08for uh city schools. I'm speaking on the

27:11impacts of ICE on Baltimore City

27:13students, families, and school

27:15communities, but more on the importance

27:17of having enough bilingual staff that is

27:19proportional to the number of

27:20multilingual students and multilingual

27:23families

27:24and for a living a livable wage. Um, I'd

27:29like to share a few things with you.

27:31Right now, I'm working across two city

27:34schools, one in the west and one in the

27:36east. I've worked for this district for

27:39almost four years. I had to always have

27:41two or more extra jobs through my time

27:43just to be able to pay for my carinal

27:45rent and bills. But enough of that.

27:48During my time with this district, I've

27:50learned from teachers and mental health

27:51workers who gave so much of themselves

27:54and from student leaders who made me

27:55want to always do more. They taught me

27:58that a student's heart in a student's

28:00grades are never separate. Here are some

28:02things that I've been carrying.

28:05There's a student whose mom was detained

28:06three months ago, but he still comes to

28:09school every day. He he's often zoned

28:11out during math class. And obviously,

28:13you know, he's not paying attention. He

28:15doesn't he's not learning math. Every

28:17time I have to sit in front of him, I

28:19ask myself, why should a student care

28:21about learning y= mx plusb? That

28:25question is not just his. Across my two

28:27schools, I know of about 20 students who

28:29have returned to their countries either

28:31forcefully or voluntarily.

28:34Across my community, at least 30

28:36families have had to leave or were

28:37forced to leave. And this was only in

28:39the past year. October should be a time

28:42to celebrate our immigrant community,

28:44the people who make Baltimore what it

28:45is. Instead, I'm sitting in trainings at

28:47how to help parents write unification

28:49plans for their kids just in case. I'm

28:52joining schoolwide parent meetings about

28:53three times a week because I want

28:55families to know that our schools are

28:56equipped to handle this. I just don't

28:59want to be a translator. I want to have

29:00answers when the questions come. Like

29:03for example, two weeks ago, I had to

29:05tell four seniors they couldn't join the

29:07military because of their status. It was

29:09their plan they've had for years. And

29:11even then, they were still willing to

29:12serve a country that wasn't protecting

29:14them. Nobody had told them sooner. And

29:17that's the crucial information that we

29:18need to make sure they know. Information

29:20that may push them or make them pause on

29:22their life plans.

29:24That's the kind of thing that always

29:25falls between the cracks. In the past

29:28week alone, about 10 students came to me

29:31with something that they hadn't been

29:32able to get across to anyone.

29:34A student who was hurt and had no

29:36insurance. A student who somehow got

29:38lost in the system for two months, who

29:40should be graduating this year, but is

29:42scrambling to make to figure out how to

29:45take the extra credit, how to take the

29:46night classes, all of that. All of that

29:48that should have been addressed when he

29:51was lost in the system.

29:54There's another student who knows she's

29:56going to college, but her mom doesn't

29:59believe she will because of her status.

30:02So, it's it's been um a battle to have

30:05meetings to be able to get their

30:06information like, "Hey, you can go to

30:08college without a status."

30:11[sighs]

30:13All of these things are important and

30:15they should be important for district

30:16school staff. Students are missing

30:19school every day because their thinking

30:20is, "Why should I care about a system

30:22that doesn't care about me?"

30:24Report cards are coming and I'm told how

30:27it's important to tell the kids to get

30:29their grades up. But how do I get that

30:30message across to a kid who is working

30:32to help his mom make rent because his

30:34dad is no longer here. And one last

30:37thing, to be completely honest, today I

30:39feel a little out of place being here.

30:40My school is holding parent conferences

30:42and many teachers expecting me to be

30:44there to translate. Instead, I'm here

30:46asking for more support. so that

30:48information reaches all our families

30:50regardless of the status of the

30:51language. Even though I would love to be

30:53in all places at once, I can't do it.

30:55And my fear is that when I'm not there,

30:57someone is always left without an answer

30:59or families aren't able to advocate for

31:01themselves. So, what I ask for you is

31:03simple. Let's make sure that every

31:04school has someone who speaks our family

31:06languages and that all work isn't just

31:08left for one person to do it all. Let's

31:10make sure that there's a person students

31:11can go to who knows what to do. And

31:13let's make sure families hear what they

31:15need to hear when they need to hear it

31:17in a language they understand. Families

31:19trust us with their children every

31:21morning. I like to give them every

31:22reason to keep trusting us. Thank you.

31:26>> Thank you very much, Anna.

31:32>> Let's hear from Bonitez.

31:43Um,

31:46dear honorable chair and members of the

31:48Baltimore City Council, my name is Meen

31:50and I'm a student at Baltimore City

31:52College. Many students have not been

31:55able to focus in school or be active in

31:57school or can't speak because they're

31:58afraid to be out in open due to the

32:00possibility of ice showing up or always

32:02feeling anxious not focusing in school.

32:04Because of this, because of such anxiety

32:06and stress, they have to go straight

32:08home and are afraid every day to not

32:10find their parents back at home. At

32:12times, there are events that trigger us.

32:15I know I had a lot of horrible days.

32:19Um, I've had family members deported,

32:21trapped at home, in financial distress

32:24because of a parent being deported.

32:26In my own direct experience, I've had to

32:29talk and deal with my own mother about

32:31planning for emergencies in case

32:32something happens to her or me.

32:34Something I'm not looking forward to

32:36because as a teen nearly going to

32:38college, I don't want to throw away all

32:40I've worked for and all my mother has

32:42worked for. Because we were forced out

32:45or not wanted because of a status name,

32:48just because we were looking for a

32:49better life and opportunity. We haven't

32:51heard people like unlike ICE has to our

32:54Latino communities and to our other

32:56supportive comm communities to people

32:59who have simply protested to people simp

33:01simply spoken out on these issues. I've

33:04had to talk about self- deportation at

33:06times leaving my home life community all

33:09these opportunities I could have because

33:12of fear because of fear. She doesn't

33:14believe anymore that staying, that the

33:16safety of our schools, that these

33:18schools and education system aren't

33:20worth it if we're not protected or

33:22wanted.

33:24And immigrants of any background have um

33:28really built and give this country so

33:30much and they contribute so much more

33:32than they are credit for for such a long

33:34time and get left in the dark at school

33:37or in their communities in their rights

33:40and in anything that could be helpful

33:43towards them.

33:45History is sadly repeating itself. There

33:47are two main instances that I can think

33:49of. For starters, the Japanese

33:52internment camps, Japanese Americans

33:55were would be forced out of

33:58Japanese Americans would be forced out

34:00of their homes with brutal force, give

34:02up their life and work all because they

34:04were feared for a time period. All

34:06because they look like they would be

34:08dangerous, that they are the enemy, that

34:09they should be seen as less of a human

34:11because they come from a certain

34:12background. They were put into interment

34:14camps in the middle of deserts, forced

34:16in the crowded, unhealthy, and inhumane

34:19space. And now many Latinos are facing

34:22such brutality as they are forced out of

34:24their homes and put into detention

34:25centers that are cruel and are in

34:29unlivable conditions.

34:31Another additionally, many people

34:33including myself see me uh history

34:36repeating by paralleling what happened

34:38during the Holocaust. Regarding that, I

34:40mean many were killed, hunted down,

34:43forced out of their own homes and

34:44country just because the German

34:46government believed they should be

34:47treated as less of a human that they

34:48don't belong to the point they used brut

34:51forced biasly changed laws and killed to

34:54get their point across. They disregarded

34:56their humanity to the Jews to the people

34:58who would help them escape from such

35:00harm, give asylum or help in any way.

35:02And now ICE is doing the same with our

35:04Latino communities and those who stand

35:06with us with us. While I appreciate and

35:08while I appreciate those who have spoken

35:10up, there's still so many people within

35:14um within the school system and those

35:16with power who are disregarding students

35:18safety, mental health, physical health,

35:20and needed support by not speaking up at

35:22times and giving money away to other

35:24parts of the city. While the education

35:26only gets approximately 15% of the

35:28city's total budget, other districts

35:31part of Maryland get 30%. Why should we

35:33as students and as the future not be

35:35prioritized?

35:37>> Can I stop?

35:41>> Oh, okay.

35:43Sorry. [laughter]

35:44Um,

35:46our safety, all beings of health and our

35:48families who contribute to schools and

35:50funding, all of it should be prioritized

35:52because what will the schools in the

35:53city do when we can't contribute no

35:55more? when we completely lose trust

35:57given that there are video evidence of

35:59people who have been harassed or killed

36:01at times without provoking or having

36:03reasonable suspicion. Yet, as the city

36:05council, the people who have the power

36:07to prosecute or bring attention to these

36:09issues or to a bring these issues to a

36:12higher power or hold them accountable,

36:14we've seen no sort of their action take

36:16place. When pe people, parents, teens

36:19are arrested or beat brutally, why

36:21haven't they been held responsible and

36:22go to court trial when they break laws

36:24or constitutional rights, especially

36:26when there's evidence? So I urge you

36:29please um stop cutting off school

36:33fundings because they impact students

36:35greatly and the money we need give back

36:37to our education, our support system and

36:41we could prosecute them and because they

36:45have broken laws so many times or they

36:49use such brutality in a circumstance in

36:53unneeded circumstances. Thank you.

36:57Thank you. Thank you much, Miss Bonitez.

36:59Uh, last name Serto.

37:08So, Dal.

37:15Hello, dear honorable chair and members

37:17of the Baltimore City College, Baltimore

37:20City Council, sorry. My name is Dylene

37:23Moya and I'm a and I'm a Baltimore City

37:26College student.

37:29I'm speaking on behalf of the impact of

37:33ICE on members of our community,

37:36families, and schools.

37:39back in 2025. Um, I would have never

37:43been allowed to even speak out against

37:46what is going on because my mother was

37:48terrified of me going anywhere that

37:51would put my face or my name for anybody

37:55to see.

37:57I actually one time I went to a protest

38:03and I didn't tell her. The reason why I

38:06didn't tell my mother is because I knew

38:07if I told her, she would have been

38:09terrified.

38:11But I didn't want to just stand by and

38:14let people of my community or even

38:17friends and family members to be

38:19persecuted because of the color of their

38:21skin.

38:22And I know how it is to be told that you

38:25can't do something because of the

38:27language you speak because my first

38:29language was Spanish. I didn't learn

38:32English until way later. And um a lot of

38:35the time I was bullied because of it.

38:39I was told that my the way I spoke was

38:43wrong and that I shouldn't speak a

38:45certain language because I'm not from

38:48here. And back then I was a child and I

38:52thought that maybe the way that I spoke

38:55was not right. And I never want to see

38:57anybody ever feel that again because

39:00it's wrong. We're all people at the end

39:03of the day. We all bleed red.

39:07Um, back in 2023,

39:11there was a

39:13sorry, [gasps] a contribution for

39:16immigrants and how much undocumented

39:19immigrants paid in taxes was 89.8

39:25billion.

39:28That is a ton. These are undocumented

39:31immigrants that don't actually get any

39:33benefits from these taxes that they're

39:35giving. And yet they're labeled as

39:37criminals and told that they can't do

39:40something because they're not from here

39:43when they pay so much and do so much for

39:45our communities, our friends, and our

39:47families. If immigrants weren't here,

39:51and I'm not just talking about um people

39:53from South America. I'm talking about

39:55everywhere in the world. We all are

39:57people and we all have contributed to

40:00everything we've done for this country

40:03and for most countries. Now

40:10there have been deaths of not just

40:13adults but also children 15 year olds,

40:17six year olds with

40:20conditions like cancer and even

40:24where they can't even speak or they have

40:28autism and many other things that can't

40:31be solved by their own countries which

40:34is why they come here. I have a cousin,

40:36a younger cousin. His He's 7 years old

40:41and he has autism. He major autism where

40:44he cannot speak.

40:47And yet, if he were ever to come back to

40:50Honduras, he would never be able to get

40:53the help he needs. There aren't schools

40:55for him to go to. He would be treated

40:58terribly because he cannot speak. He

41:00cannot communicate with others

41:03for absolutely nothing that he did

41:06wrong. He didn't do anything wrong. He

41:08didn't choose to be born the way he did.

41:11And that is sad. That is upsetting that

41:14our countries are treating kids these

41:18ways because of the way they can't

41:22express themselves.

41:25Children should never be terrified of

41:27coming out of their houses. They should

41:29not be scared of their own community.

41:31They should not be terrified of their

41:33own schools.

41:37I would have never been allowed to go to

41:39Baltimore City College if I hadn't told

41:42my mom that that's where I wanted to go.

41:45She would have never allowed me to

41:46because she was terrified of me going

41:48into public,

41:50a public space where I'm supposed to

41:52feel safe. And yet she told me I

41:55wouldn't be safe.

41:58This is not just an issue of children

42:01anymore. This is not an issue of just

42:03undocumented immigrants. This is an

42:05issue of people, all of us. And it is

42:10upsetting that these families have to be

42:13scared of their own communities and not

42:15trust people because of these things,

42:19these issues that we have caused.

42:23I'm not saying that everything has gone

42:26wrong because there are still people who

42:29are speaking out against what is going

42:31on and they still want the best for our

42:34community. And

42:37I believe that if we can continue to do

42:40the things we do, we will be able to at

42:43least help our communities and our

42:46people and every single person that we

42:49know. Thank you.

42:53Thank you, Daleen.

42:59I have a last name

43:02uh Gormachi,

43:09first name Alan, maybe

43:12or

43:26Okay, think about it. We'll we'll come

43:28back. Uh, think about it. Uh, the other

43:31last time I had again I I saved for um

43:34not being able I'm not a professional

43:36educator, so reading handwriting is a

43:37new thing for me this way. Um, it

43:40appears this is the the I we had two

43:42other people. Actually, I'll call this

43:43person first and then I'll come back to

43:44this person. Uh, Luna Ramos.

43:47Luna.

44:00Hello.

44:01Sorry.

44:07My name is Luna Ramos and I'm a student

44:09at Baltimore City College and I am

44:11speaking on the impacts of ICE of

44:13Baltimore City students, families, and

44:14schooling communities. Since 2024, ICE

44:17became one of the biggest threats

44:19towards immigration, immigrant

44:20communities in not only Baltimore, but

44:22the entire country of United States.

44:24While I have never had a personal

44:26experience, I've seen it happen around

44:28on the way to school from after

44:30practice. I'll see people being detained

44:32in these big back in these big black

44:34vans with no warning whatsoever on them,

44:37but ICE agents running out of their car

44:39running out of their car just to chase.

44:41Growing up here

44:44and seeing what what our community has

44:46become is such a horrid experience. Not

44:48only for me, but for everyone who was

44:50able to call this place their home. even

44:52places I've been around and to see ice

44:54there and waiting at this local

44:56laundromat I went growing up. One day I

44:59had seen the the big black van they

45:02drive around with the windows tinted all

45:05the way down and everything locked. This

45:06car alone gave such a menacing look I

45:09asked my dad if he thought it was ice.

45:11He told me it couldn't be since they

45:13always strike first. Later that day I

45:16found out four people got detained and

45:18taken from the same laundromat. I was

45:20astonished to imagine these people that

45:22were just trying to get by living their

45:24day-to-day life, just trying to get one

45:26of their many duties as a parent, son,

45:29daughter, husband, wife done, a

45:31laundromat where it's open to everyone.

45:33To be taken away because you aren't

45:35allowed to be here is heartbreaking. On

45:38behalf of the Baltimore City students, I

45:40urge you to make schools a priority on

45:42safety and give students a place to make

45:44them feel safe and comfortable by having

45:46a compassion fund for families affected

45:50and more bilingual staff. Thank you.

45:54>> Thank you very much, Luna Alan.

46:12Hola

46:15High School.

46:29Just wait one. We want to make sure we

46:30have a translator next to you.

46:42Uh so moment

47:01that Okay.

47:13I have an experience that in the

47:14mornings I go to school. Great.

47:35In the morning I go to school. In the

47:38afternoon I I work and the following day

47:42I wake up very tired.

48:07I'm looking for a job that starts

48:09earlier from 4 to 9

48:20>> and I haven't found it. And I I'm right

48:23now working from 4:00 in the afternoon

48:25until 4:00 a.m. in the morning

48:37and I'm I'm having found it and

48:40hopefully I'll have the opportunity to

48:41be able to leave that job soon.

48:46>> That's all I wanted to say.

48:49>> Thank you, Alan. Gracias.

48:53The last student I have here to testify.

48:55Again, it's a handwriting situation. It

48:58appears the last name um something you

49:01ris.

49:06>> Say one more time.

49:08>> Uh the last name, the first letter, I'm

49:11not sure, but then it looks like U R C I

49:13Cs or CI Y maybe.

49:17uh for I mean if if there's any other

49:19put it this way if there's any other

49:20students who sign this piece of paper

49:22who haven't spoken yet this is you I am

49:24sure of it.

49:27>> Anybody else from

49:39um good morning um dear honorable chair

49:42and member of the Baltimore City

49:43Council. My name is Aisha Castillo. I am

49:46a student from Forest Park High School.

49:49I came here to talk about impacts of

49:51eyes in city schools. I believe that

49:53families should be together and that

49:54every student should feel safe in

49:56school. Many students are scared because

49:59they worry that eyes could take their

50:00parents or their family members away

50:02from them.

50:04They

50:06I'm sorry.

50:10Instead of focusing on learning, they go

50:11to school thinking about their families

50:13or wondering if they will be safe when

50:15they get home. No students should have

50:16to live with this fear. School should be

50:18a safe place students can learn, feel

50:20happy, and focus on the future. Families

50:23should should not have to live with this

50:25fear of being separated. ICE action can

50:28cause a lot of stress and sadness for

50:30children and their families. Every child

50:32deserve to feel safe no matter where

50:34they came from. A stand against eyes of

50:37stand against the fear of that ice

50:39causes our communities. Families belong

50:42together and students deserve to go to

50:43school without worrying about losing a

50:46family member.

50:48>> Thank you, Miss Castillo.

50:53Is there anybody else here from Somos? I

50:56know we have Dr. Pulk here with us.

50:59Anyone else from Somos to speak?

51:03Okay. In that case, we'll call up Sarah

51:06Poke.

51:17Thank you, uh, Chair Parker, Vice Chair

51:20Ramos, and members of the committee. Um,

51:22good afternoon. Um, thank you for the

51:25opportunity to provide testimony on this

51:26important issue. My name is Dr. Sarah

51:29Pulk. I am a primary care pediatrician,

51:32the director of Central Soul, and the

51:34proud parent of a 2022 Baltimore City

51:37College graduate. The views expressed

51:39here are my own and do not necessarily

51:41reflect the policies or positions of

51:43John's Hopkins.

51:45A 10-year-old came to see me for his

51:47annual wellchild check. When he took off

51:49his sweatshirt for me to listen to his

51:51heart, I found cut marks on his arms. He

51:54said he had cut himself to try to manage

51:56the terrible fear of having his parents

51:58deported and not knowing how he would

52:01take care of his younger siblings if

52:02that were to happen.

52:05The mental health consequences of the

52:07family separations of the past two

52:08years, actual separations, threatened

52:11separations, and separations witnessed

52:13vicariously through social media will

52:16persist for years to come.

52:19The consequences will manifest in more

52:21children with anxiety, depression, and

52:23post-traumatic stress symptoms as well

52:26as in learning loss as students struggle

52:28to concentrate in the classroom while

52:29they are distracted by fear as has so

52:32elegant eloquently been described today.

52:35I encourage the committee to bolster

52:37school-based resources in response to

52:39the current crisis and to support

52:40students in the years to come. Schools

52:43are one of the only trusted spaces for

52:45immigrant families. School-based

52:47resources will benefit all students.

52:50Healthier students result in a healthier

52:52classroom atmosphere which better

52:54enables all students to learn and

52:55thrive. I suggest the following uh

52:58specific school-based supports.

53:02School-based licensed mental health

53:03counselors. Some students like my

53:06patient need individual attention due to

53:07the gravity of their symptoms. It is

53:10also crucial for their fellow students

53:11that classroom teachers are not being

53:13asked to manage children in crisis while

53:15teaching a full classroom of children

53:17who represent Baltimore's future.

53:20Culturally and linguistically responsive

53:22supports for parents. Parents are

53:25responsible for the safety and

53:26well-being of their children. In my

53:28clinical experience, parents often

53:30recognize their children's distress but

53:32hesitate to discuss family separation or

53:35mental health concerns for fear of

53:37saying the wrong thing. Parents are also

53:39unsure whether it is safe to discuss

53:41these concerns with school personnel.

53:43Group-based coaching can help parents

53:45have age appropriate conversations about

53:47difficult topics with their children,

53:50recognize emotional distress, and

53:52regulate their own emotions in order to

53:54meet their parenting goals. Group

53:56parenting activities also have the

53:57benefits of allowing parents to be in

53:59community with one another and to

54:01recognize that they are not alone.

54:04Offering groups would send a powerful

54:05message of solidarity to the community

54:08and help reduce mental health stigma.

54:11Finally, supports for staff. Trusted and

54:14compassionate staff are being approached

54:15from all sides with difficult questions

54:17about deportation, trauma, grief, and

54:20mental health. They are at risk of

54:21burnout and secondary trauma. Staff

54:24members should speak for themselves as

54:26some have done today. But in light of

54:29increased responsibilities, their mental

54:30health and and the structural support

54:33for their work deserves attention if

54:34they are to keep working in schools and

54:36supporting the children of Baltimore. I

54:39close by reiterating that schools remain

54:41a trusted space for immigrant families.

54:43By providing school-based mental health

54:45counselors, group parenting activities,

54:47and needed supports to school staff,

54:49Baltimore City can take important steps

54:51towards addressing the impacts of

54:53immigration enforcement on our students

54:55mental health. Thank you for the

54:57opportunity to testify today.

55:00>> Thank you, Dr. Pulk, for your testimony

55:01and for your work in the community.

55:05Thank you. That concludes the testimony

55:07of those who have signed up. Is there

55:09anyone else present in the chamber who

55:11would like to speak

55:13before we move into our uh our committee

55:16reports and invited guests?

55:23I now want to invite those joining us

55:25virtually on WebEx or by phone to offer

55:27testimony. Um,

55:29if you will have raised your hand

55:32to indicate that interest.

55:40I hear maybe Dr. Cabayro is with us

55:42online.

55:49Ah, I see she's there at the top. Tanya

55:52Coto.

55:58>> Very good.

55:58>> Good afternoon. Can you hear me?

56:00>> Yes, absolutely. Thank you.

56:02>> Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Parker,

56:04Vice Chair Ramos, and members of the

56:06committee. My name is Tanya Cawayto. I'm

56:08a board-certified pediatrician with 12

56:10years of experience and primarily

56:12serving Baltimore City's Latino

56:13immigrant community. And I'm also the

56:15parent of two Baltimore City elementary

56:17school students. Thank you for the

56:18opportunity to testify. The views here

56:21expressed are my own and don't

56:22necessarily reflect the policies or

56:23positions of Johns Hopkins or the Johns

56:25Hopkins health system. Since I last

56:28spoke about this issue over the summer,

56:29uh, children have returned to school.

56:31Many children and immigrant families

56:32spend the summer isolated at home as

56:34their families are afraid of laitan or

56:37the situation of ICE presence in the

56:39community. For many, school is one of

56:41the few stable places in their lives as

56:43parents are detained, lose their job, or

56:45take on extra jobs, and families move to

56:47reduce expenses as economic and

56:49immigration related pressures persist.

56:52Schools therefore have both an

56:53opportunity, responsibility to support

56:55children during unstable times. Today,

56:57I'll describe two ideas that can make an

56:59immediate difference. Connecting

57:01students with consistent, trusted adult

57:03mentors and making food assistance

57:05available in schools. These supports

57:06would strengthen the well-being of the

57:08entire school community.

57:10First, every student experiencing

57:12chronic fear and uncertainty should have

57:13access to a consistent adult mentor at

57:15school. When children experience

57:17frequent, intense, unresolved stress

57:19without adequate support or coping, they

57:21are at risk for toxic stress with

57:22lasting consequences on their health.

57:24And one of the strongest buffers against

57:26those effects is a stable, reliable

57:28relationship with a caring adult, many

57:30of whom are in the room today. At

57:32school, the person might be a teacher or

57:34other trained member of the school

57:36community. And that trusted adult would

57:38be someone who can check in regularly,

57:39help the student navigate challenges,

57:41and remind them that they're not alone.

57:43Schools can create this protection

57:44intentionally, and give staff the time

57:46and support to sustain them. Second,

57:49schools should help address food

57:50insecurity by offering staple food items

57:52at schools. We know food insecurity is

57:55affecting our whole community and and

57:56there's certainly a high need. Um, but

57:58the immigrant community is experiencing

58:00a particularly high need. Among three of

58:03our pediatric clinics that screen for

58:04social needs, 48% of Spanish-sp

58:07speakaking families endorse food

58:08insecurity compared to 34% of English

58:11speakers. Many immigrant families have

58:13limited or no transportation to existing

58:15food distribution sites and may be

58:17fearful of going to places they're

58:19unfamiliar with, new places, and are

58:21generally, as we've heard, many are

58:23afraid to leave their homes. Providing

58:25food through schools brings essential

58:27support to trusted places and reduces

58:29the burden of navigating another system.

58:32I urge the city and school system to

58:34invest in these practical school-based

58:35supports. We can't remove every source

58:37of stress from a child's life, but we

58:39can ensure that no child faces fear,

58:41stress, or hunger without a trusted

58:43adult and a dependable place to turn.

58:45Thanks for the opportunity to testify

58:47today.

58:48>> Thank you, Dr. Cabayto.

58:51Is there anyone else online who has

58:52raised a hand?

58:54All right.

58:56I seeing then, thank you all for your

58:58testimony and to everyone who took the

59:00time to testify and to come and be

59:01present uh to listen as well. Uh now

59:04we'll get started with reports from city

59:05agencies and uh we'll begin with does me

59:08want to go first or city schools want to

59:09go first?

59:13H how about the mayor's office affairs?

59:24Good afternoon, uh, Mr. Chair, Madame

59:27Vice Chair, members of the city council.

59:29My name is Catalina Rodriguez Lima, and

59:31I'm the director of the Baltimore City

59:32Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs,

59:35known by its acre, acronym, MIMA. Um, we

59:38have a PowerPoint presentation for you

59:40today, um,

59:43updated based on the last presentation

59:45that we did during this hearing.

59:48Um the table of contents for today's

59:50presentation uh includes uh detention

59:54numbers where we do have updated numbers

59:57for you to uh for you to know. Um we are

1:00:01going to provide a reminder of what safe

1:00:03city Baltimore is. Um which is our

1:00:05strategy to respond to the current

1:00:08reality as it rel as it relates to

1:00:10immigration enforcement. Um we have new

1:00:12data on um safe city Baltimore tier one

1:00:16uh which is the tier dedicated to

1:00:18educate immigrant families about their

1:00:20rights um and family preparedness.

1:00:24Uh we have uh tier three data which is

1:00:27the data related to uh immigration legal

1:00:30services once people are arrested and

1:00:33case management support. Uh however that

1:00:35data has not been updated since our last

1:00:38presentation given that uh we don't have

1:00:40a quarterly report for that data until

1:00:42the month of November but happy to

1:00:43provide that once that's available. And

1:00:46then finally um we are going to provide

1:00:48some updates in terms of new resources

1:00:50that have been established as a result

1:00:51of uh the increase in our budget and

1:00:54some um fundraising efforts that we have

1:00:57been leading since March.

1:01:01Um so moving on to um data related to

1:01:05arrest uh in the city of Baltimore.

1:01:08Since the last hearing, the deportation

1:01:10data project, which is where we gather

1:01:12our data, uh release apprehension data,

1:01:15which is now available until July of

1:01:182026.

1:01:20Um, as you can see, uh, since, uh,

1:01:24January of 2025,

1:01:26um, there have been over a thousand

1:01:29arrests in the city of Baltimore.

1:01:32Approximately half of those have taken

1:01:34place in 2026,

1:01:36uh, with the highest number of arrests

1:01:39during the month of January and the

1:01:41lowest month uh, being March. And as you

1:01:44may recall during the month of March, uh

1:01:46um Homeland Security went through

1:01:48leadership changes. Uh uh the other um

1:01:53the other potential impact could be that

1:01:56um the Baltimore holding room was

1:01:59ordered by a judge not to hold uh more

1:02:01than 50 people in in in the room.

1:02:06uh additional data for today that we

1:02:08wanted to share with you all is uh

1:02:11country of origin of those detained. Um

1:02:14and this may not be a surprise to you

1:02:16but very consistent with our

1:02:18demographics. The top five countries are

1:02:21Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico

1:02:25and Ecuador.

1:02:27Um this is important for us to know

1:02:31given that the the target is uh mainly

1:02:35focus on our Latino Hispanic population

1:02:39uh which is which is not a surprise. It

1:02:42also informs our efforts in terms of how

1:02:45we um

1:02:47set up our programs, the languages that

1:02:49we target, uh the places where we do

1:02:52outreach uh and more.

1:02:59Um so just a reminder of what Safe City

1:03:02Baltimore is. Uh this is MIMA's

1:03:05multi-prong approach um to meet people

1:03:08where they are in their immigration

1:03:10legal journey. This project has uh three

1:03:13tiers of services. You can think of the

1:03:16population from like three groups. The

1:03:18first group which is tier one is focus

1:03:21on educating immigrant families about

1:03:23their rights but also uh to prepare for

1:03:26a possible scenario where they could be

1:03:28deported. Tier two focuses on immigrants

1:03:31who have not been arrested but are

1:03:33likely to have an immigration relief. We

1:03:36have established a non-detain hotline

1:03:39where our residents can call, receive a

1:03:42legal screening and be referred to a

1:03:44legal service provider for

1:03:45representation. We also partner with

1:03:48private attorneys to be represented

1:03:50during uh for the duration of their

1:03:52case.

1:03:54And tier three is for those who have

1:03:56been arrested right after the fact. So

1:03:58tier three provides legal services for

1:04:00people who have been arrested, case

1:04:02management support, and financial

1:04:04assistance to the families left behind.

1:04:07We're going to focus on tier one today.

1:04:10And as a reminder, um, Tier 1 is an

1:04:14effort, um, that we established back in

1:04:16April of 2025. We partnered with the

1:04:18American Bar Association Commission on

1:04:20Immigration to develop a city-wide

1:04:23curriculum on know your rights. We train

1:04:26immigration attorneys and those

1:04:27immigration attorneys are providing

1:04:29those sessions throughout the city in

1:04:32multiple languages. Uh since April of

1:04:352025, we've hosted a total of 59 know

1:04:38your rights and family preparedness

1:04:40sessions. Uh those workshops have

1:04:42happened in Spanish, English, French,

1:04:45and Mandaring. And we've recorded a

1:04:47total of 700 participants. As you can

1:04:51imagine, participation has been

1:04:53relatively low, especially after moments

1:04:55when we have immigration presence in the

1:04:58city. People are afraid to come out, as

1:05:01many people have mentioned today. uh but

1:05:03we have adapted and pivoted to make sure

1:05:05that we've also had sessions via

1:05:07WhatsApp uh via Zoom any platform that

1:05:11we can make it accessible for our

1:05:13families. The photo on the right is the

1:05:16photo

1:05:18thank you the photo on the right is a

1:05:21photo of our know your rights bags.

1:05:23Every person participating in the

1:05:25sessions receives a bag with materials

1:05:28um regarding our services, our

1:05:29resources, and an actual outline of the

1:05:32documents that folks should be

1:05:34collecting to be prepared in case of

1:05:37deportation.

1:05:42And now I'm going to talk about tier

1:05:43three. Um and just as a reminder, we

1:05:46partner with CASA and AMA to provide uh

1:05:49this level of service. The way it works

1:05:52is families whose loved ones have been

1:05:54arrested by ICE can call CASA's hotline

1:05:58at a point where we are able to verify

1:05:59that the person lives in the city. A

1:06:02referral takes place to the Baltimore

1:06:04local office. A case manager responds uh

1:06:08within 48 hours to determine whether the

1:06:11person was arrested by ICE or other law

1:06:13enforcement entity.

1:06:15um at a point where we are able to

1:06:16confirm that an ICER arrest took place.

1:06:19Uh a warm referral takes place to AMA

1:06:22for legal screening and legal

1:06:24representation. And in the meantime, the

1:06:26case manager from CASA remains with the

1:06:28family for a period of three months to

1:06:30provide assistance and anything that

1:06:33they need, but also financial

1:06:35assistance.

1:06:39And as I shared with you uh a few months

1:06:42ago

1:06:43um the update or the data that we've

1:06:46gathered from September 1st which is

1:06:48when this year launched to June of 2026

1:06:51Kasa has screened a total of 742 calls

1:06:56143 people were detained city residents

1:06:59who were referred to AMA.

1:07:01Uh 78 households received case

1:07:04management and financial assistance. And

1:07:06the reason why the numbers between

1:07:07detained and households are different is

1:07:10because you may have multiple people

1:07:12arrested in one household. And one thing

1:07:15that we want to point out is that the

1:07:17referral mechanism has been effective.

1:07:1990% of referrals to AMA come from the

1:07:22CASA partnership.

1:07:28Some case management findings. Uh 95% of

1:07:31those receiving case management are

1:07:33women. This is not a surprise. We know

1:07:35that ICE is targeting head of

1:07:36households.

1:07:38The average size of families um is four.

1:07:41The languages spoken that we have

1:07:43encountered are Spanish and French. And

1:07:45the years of residency in Baltimore

1:07:47City, 61% of those receiving case

1:07:51management have lived in the city for

1:07:52more than 5 years.

1:07:59some new resources. Uh thanks to your uh

1:08:02thanks to the administration's support

1:08:04and your leadership uh when we received

1:08:07an increase in our budget during the um

1:08:09during the city's fisc year 27 budget.

1:08:13Um we are going to be offering standby

1:08:16guardianship workshops during our know

1:08:18your right sessions. Um, we briefly

1:08:21touch on standby guardianship, but we

1:08:23don't expect parents to know who they're

1:08:25going to live their children with. Uh,

1:08:27we provide a phone number to MVLS to uh,

1:08:31get assistance on how to fill out the

1:08:33form. We're not necessarily seeing the

1:08:36numbers that we would like to see

1:08:37calling MVLS. So, we are going to be

1:08:40more intentional. We're actually going

1:08:41to host sessions solely for standby

1:08:43guardianship for those who have attended

1:08:45the know your right sessions and the

1:08:47family preparedness.

1:08:48We're also adding a legal service

1:08:50provider to tier 2, which is the network

1:08:53of legal service providers for

1:08:54non-detaining individuals. Uh we

1:08:57recently onboarded Esparansa Center as

1:08:59another partner and they will be

1:09:00accepting cases of those who have not

1:09:03been detained but need an attorney.

1:09:06Uh we are also increasing our capacity

1:09:09to hire private attorneys. Um, our model

1:09:13not only refers clients to uh legal

1:09:16service providers but also private

1:09:17attorneys who are willing to take the

1:09:19cases at a low bono rate.

1:09:22Um, the other new resource that will

1:09:24exist in our program is that we're

1:09:27partnering with behavioral health equity

1:09:29across Maryland. That's a full name or

1:09:32beam uh to provide mental health

1:09:34services to the families of those

1:09:36detained. And the way it will work is

1:09:39that BEAM will work with the families to

1:09:41determine whether one-on-one um

1:09:44assistance is needed because of the

1:09:46status of the individual, group therapy

1:09:49is needed, or triage because maybe the

1:09:51children do qualify for services due to

1:09:54um due to status.

1:09:57We're also increasing the funding to AMA

1:09:59to provide deportation defense to

1:10:01additional number of residents.

1:10:04Um, we're also recruiting a new

1:10:07community-based organization to be,

1:10:09which is our case management program,

1:10:11helping families navigate services and

1:10:13resources. Um, and we're also hiring

1:10:17staff at MIA to implement the Safe

1:10:19Spaces and Communities Act.

1:10:26some additional resources. MIMA has been

1:10:29fundraising since the month of March and

1:10:31we've raised an additional $2 million

1:10:34from philanthropic partners to

1:10:36strengthen our efforts over the next two

1:10:38years. And so, thanks to those dollars,

1:10:40you will see that we're going to

1:10:42increase CASA's capacity. We're going to

1:10:44double their capacity to have um

1:10:47additional capacity to provide case

1:10:48management to the families left behind

1:10:50and financial assistance. Uh we're also

1:10:53going to be providing assistance with

1:10:55filing fees to USCIS given that they can

1:10:58be rather expensive. Um we're also going

1:11:01to increase the capacity of our know

1:11:02your rights tier. Um so Katie who's

1:11:06sitting on my left and who's the project

1:11:08manager for Safe City Baltimore manages

1:11:10all the tiers. We're going to be hiring

1:11:12um a coordinator to solely focus on tier

1:11:14one. Um and so that person hopefully is

1:11:18starting in the next few months. uh and

1:11:20that would really increase the number of

1:11:21know your right sessions stand by

1:11:23standby guardianship sessions and

1:11:25whatnot. Uh we also have raised dollars

1:11:28to provide behavioral health services

1:11:30for service providers. Uh we've been

1:11:32hearing a lot of um challenges that

1:11:36service providers are are facing in

1:11:38serving a population that is going

1:11:40through a lot of trauma.

1:11:43And then finally we are going to finally

1:11:45focus on know your right sessions for

1:11:47business owners and employees. we have

1:11:49additional capacity to uh conduct

1:11:52sessions on uh what to do during an I-9

1:11:55audit and how to how to inform your

1:11:58employees of what their rights are.

1:12:01And

1:12:03the final slide that I have here is I

1:12:05just wanted to highlight I think you all

1:12:07know how to support um impacted

1:12:10immigrant families. Um at a point where

1:12:13anybody knows that someone has been

1:12:14arrested their first call should be

1:12:16CASA's hotline. That's the way we can

1:12:18triage.

1:12:19Also encouraging families to attend know

1:12:23your rights sessions but also stand by

1:12:24guardianships. And then finally um we

1:12:28have the Baltimore immigrant community

1:12:30fund where we accept donations to help

1:12:32those impacted by the tension.

1:12:35And with that I'm happy to answer any

1:12:37questions.

1:12:39>> Thank you Director Kelly Rodriguez.

1:12:44Kelly. Thank you, director. Uh Katina

1:12:47Rodri Lima. Um we'll turn our attention

1:12:50to Baltimore City Public Schools.

1:12:59>> Good afternoon.

1:13:03This

1:13:14I don't think that's me.

1:13:20Not sure what's happened with the slide.

1:13:21Can we go back to the first slide,

1:13:22please? Cuz I didn't do it.

1:13:28Maybe. Where should I be pointing? Okay.

1:13:30Thank you. Uh, good afternoon, Chair

1:13:33Parker, Vice Chair Ramos, uh, Vice

1:13:35President Middleton, and other committee

1:13:37members and those who are assembled. I'm

1:13:38Tracy Duran, the chief of professional

1:13:40learning and pipeline development for

1:13:42Baltimore City Schools. Joined with my

1:13:44colleagues, Tina Height Cubard, who is

1:13:46the chief of communications and external

1:13:48affairs, as well as Terresa Jones, who's

1:13:50the chief achievement and accountability

1:13:52officer, and Melissa Broom, who is our

1:13:55director of policy and legislative

1:13:56affairs. We also have some community

1:13:59school coordinators who have joined us

1:14:00today who you will hear from shortly. We

1:14:02have other members of city sta city

1:14:04school staff. Um so thank you for the

1:14:07opportunity to return and bring forward

1:14:10data as an update uh to our hearing uh

1:14:13not too long ago. Um the data that we

1:14:16will be sharing uh Chair Parker, you've

1:14:18actually already framed. So we know that

1:14:20that is one of the most important um

1:14:22items for our conversation with you

1:14:24today. So we want to get to that pretty

1:14:25quickly. Um just as a matter of framing

1:14:29um we shared this with you during our

1:14:31first hearing but want to remind

1:14:32everyone about our approach um and it

1:14:35has been really around being proactive

1:14:37being responsive and being supportive

1:14:39for our students staff and our families.

1:14:43Um just as a reminder and some context

1:14:46setting it is important to note that

1:14:48city schools does not track immigration

1:14:51status. Um, as you look at the data on

1:14:54multilingual learners, we recognize um

1:14:56that it does not reflect every student

1:14:58that may be impacted by federal

1:15:00immigration enforcement. Um, the map

1:15:03reflects our multilingual learners

1:15:05across the city. And while there are

1:15:07certainly areas with larger

1:15:09concentration of multilingual learners,

1:15:11it is important to note that it also rep

1:15:14it also reflects the presence of

1:15:15multilingual learners across the entire

1:15:18city.

1:15:20So what we are are seeing um certainly

1:15:22is that our students, families, and

1:15:24school communities continue to be um

1:15:27impacted by increased immigration

1:15:29enforcement. Today we're going to share

1:15:31that data specific around enrollment and

1:15:33attendance, academic performance,

1:15:35suspensions, and our student survey

1:15:38results. Um it is also important to note

1:15:40that while many of the data points hold

1:15:43steady um and are also improving for

1:15:46some of our multilingual learner

1:15:48students, other areas do raise concern

1:15:51for us and show downward trends which is

1:15:54most likely not most likely which is due

1:15:57often to um conditions outside of our

1:16:00scope of control. um those things that

1:16:03we are seeing, those challenges that our

1:16:05communities are facing extend beyond

1:16:07city schools. Um and so it really just

1:16:10undergurs the need uh for a shared

1:16:13response um to systems that will support

1:16:16students and families. I'm going to go

1:16:17ahead and turn it over to Chief High.

1:16:19>> Thank you, Dr. Grant. Good afternoon.

1:16:21Um, so I'm going to go over quickly some

1:16:23things and we're going to get to Theresa

1:16:24Jones. So I know you want to see a lot

1:16:26of data in the presentation, but I also

1:16:28just want to take a moment to thank all

1:16:29of our students and staff who testified

1:16:31today. I did take copious notes as they

1:16:33were talking and I also want to address

1:16:34some of the things that they brought up

1:16:36while I'm giving some uh remarks. Um,

1:16:38first off, our immigration web page. Um,

1:16:41one way we share information about our

1:16:43work on this topic is through the

1:16:44immigration web pages on our website.

1:16:46This is where we post a two-page

1:16:48overview of the protocols, a message

1:16:50from our district, and links to various

1:16:52resources from city schools and trusted

1:16:54community partners. Anyone who is

1:16:56interested can visit this web page on

1:16:57their own. You want me to do it? Okay.

1:17:00Um, and so from guidance and training,

1:17:03this slide provides an overview of the

1:17:04guidance and training we provided for

1:17:06our staff. We initially issued guidance

1:17:08to school leaders prior to inauguration

1:17:11and then again after the federal

1:17:12protected areas policy was rescended.

1:17:15We've offered an Again, in response to

1:17:17changing policies and questions from

1:17:18school leaders and staff, the most

1:17:20recent revisions occurred earlier this

1:17:22year in August. Our guidance laid out

1:17:24the immigration immigration protocols,

1:17:27provides answers to frequently asked

1:17:28questions, and gives schools leaders

1:17:30templates they can use when sharing

1:17:32information with their own teams. We are

1:17:34providing training on our immigration

1:17:36protocols that have attended by more

1:17:37than 800 participants including the

1:17:40following school leaders, school police,

1:17:42front office staff, community school

1:17:44coordinators, central office staff,

1:17:46summer school staff, and community

1:17:48partners working in our schools.

1:17:50Next slide. Thank you. We also have a

1:17:52protocols document that's robust that

1:17:54was consistent with state and federal

1:17:55law and that explain how employees must

1:17:58respond when interacting with ICE or any

1:18:00external law enforcement agencies. In

1:18:03addition to the protocols that the

1:18:04school leader guidance receives and

1:18:06training in the training, we've created

1:18:08a two-page document to help schools

1:18:10operationalize those protocols in their

1:18:12schools. This document was kept in the

1:18:14main office and has space for schools to

1:18:16fill information specific to their

1:18:18school buildings.

1:18:21In terms of policies and regulation

1:18:22revision, we've been updating our board

1:18:24policies and administrative regs where

1:18:26necessary. These revisions were made in

1:18:28response to changes to Maryland law. And

1:18:31to emphasize, we are consistent with

1:18:32state and federal law. City schools, as

1:18:34Dr. already said, and I'm going to say

1:18:36it again, does not collect information

1:18:39about immigration status or citizenship

1:18:41status. Edits were also made in response

1:18:43to board members and student

1:18:44stakeholders. For example, we clarified

1:18:47an attendance regulation that a family

1:18:49emergency can be an excused absence.

1:18:51We've also heard from students today

1:18:52talk about the need to have excused

1:18:54absences for immigration related

1:18:55hearings or other procedural items and

1:18:58those have also been amended. School

1:19:00students can have excused absences when

1:19:02they have to attend items such as that.

1:19:04They need to let their school community

1:19:05know but that is now part of our

1:19:07regulation in our practice.

1:19:10In response to questions we recently

1:19:12developed uh we posted our own know your

1:19:14rights brochure and associated video on

1:19:16the immigration resource web page. We

1:19:19are intentional about framing the

1:19:20information as being about engagement

1:19:22with law enforcement in general and not

1:19:24just immigration enforcement because we

1:19:26know that our families are impacted by

1:19:27law enforcement in different ways. When

1:19:30we share this with school leaders, we

1:19:32also provided language for them when

1:19:33sharing this resource with their

1:19:35families.

1:19:38In meeting the needs of families, we

1:19:39believe that family engagement is

1:19:41everybody's responsibility in the school

1:19:42community. And many people at the school

1:19:44level, including social workers and our

1:19:46beautiful, wonderful community school

1:19:47coordinators, are working to connect

1:19:49families impacted by immigration

1:19:50enforcement to resources. This may

1:19:53include food assistance that we've heard

1:19:54about today as well, food banks,

1:19:57connecting them to MIMA's wonderful case

1:19:59management services and supports, or

1:20:00helping them identify legal sources when

1:20:02emergencies occur or when needed.

1:20:05They've also worked to create safe

1:20:06spaces to and from school, having staff

1:20:09volunteer to walk kids to school. In

1:20:11some cases, staff are walking a mile to

1:20:13meet students to accompany them back and

1:20:15forth. We've also put together walking

1:20:17school buses with families and

1:20:18volunteers.

1:20:20We want to acknowledge that some of the

1:20:21resources most needed are always not

1:20:23available and that we encourage our city

1:20:25council and our city to support things

1:20:27like rental assistance, transportation,

1:20:29and mental health for adults as we

1:20:31discussed today as we do a lot of mental

1:20:33health support in our schools for our

1:20:34students. Um, I also want to just take a

1:20:37moment to acknowledge that we have done

1:20:39a lot of work. I want to first

1:20:41acknowledge that um we are behind as a

1:20:43district in my opinion where we need to

1:20:45be around how we engage in language at

1:20:47school. We've acknowledged this publicly

1:20:49at our board meetings and as recently as

1:20:50two meetings ago. I provided an update

1:20:53of where we are with that and I just

1:20:54want the room to hear that part of that

1:20:55update as well. And then I I'll get to

1:20:57that just a moment. We have two

1:20:59multilingual family engagement

1:21:00specialists on my team whose job it is

1:21:03to provide supports for schools to

1:21:05create welcoming environments for all of

1:21:07our families. They are at service to

1:21:10schools at any time and they have done a

1:21:11multitude of trainings across the

1:21:12district to support schools in

1:21:14understanding how to create that

1:21:15environment. We also have conducted a

1:21:18landscape analysis of where we are in

1:21:20conducting business with multilingual

1:21:22families. We then looked at best

1:21:24practices at schools that were already

1:21:25doing this well across Maryland and

1:21:28nationally. We then developed a work

1:21:30group of multi- uh folks or stakeholders

1:21:33from school staff to partners to

1:21:35district office staff etc. to develop a

1:21:38strategic plan to improve language

1:21:40access across the district. I presented

1:21:43on that language access strategic plan

1:21:44again two board meetings ago. We are now

1:21:47beginning to implement this three-year

1:21:48plan because we all agree that we need

1:21:50to honor the humanity of our families

1:21:52and being able to support their children

1:21:54in their home language. You may visit

1:21:56our website to view that strategic plan

1:21:58and our immediate next steps in year one

1:22:00to improve our services to all of our

1:22:02families. I will now turn it over to

1:22:04Chief Presa Jones to talk about our

1:22:05data. Our chief achievement and

1:22:06accountability officer.

1:22:10[clears throat]

1:22:15>> How do we get the There we go. All

1:22:17right. So, good afternoon again. My name

1:22:19is Teresa Jones and I serve the district

1:22:21as chief achievement and accountability

1:22:22officer. Um, as we go through our data

1:22:25this afternoon, um, bear with me. I am

1:22:27going to try to orient you with each of

1:22:28the slides just so that we can make sure

1:22:30that the entire public can really follow

1:22:31along. um to understand what the data

1:22:34are telling us. First and foremost, we

1:22:36want to take a look at the most recent

1:22:37official data since the last hearing and

1:22:40that is the data based on our endofear

1:22:42uh enrollment. What we're noting first

1:22:44and foremost is that there has been a

1:22:46net decrease when we take a look at

1:22:48multilingual learner student enrollment

1:22:50and this is in comparison to the prior

1:22:52year 2425.

1:22:54Uh what you're seeing here on the bars

1:22:56first and foremost is that that dark bar

1:22:58um to the left that represents our

1:23:00multilingual students. The lighter blue

1:23:02bar to the right is represents our non

1:23:05multilingual students. So right off the

1:23:07bat you can see that all four of those

1:23:10dark blue bars are going downward. So

1:23:13that's showing that we have decreases

1:23:14across the board. If you take a look at

1:23:16the one on the far right that represents

1:23:18the overall decrease of 8.1%.

1:23:21But then if you take a look at how that

1:23:22is broken down by grade band you'll see

1:23:25that the largest bar is at negative 9.5%

1:23:28among our high school students. One of

1:23:31the things that we want to note here um

1:23:33as we break this down both by entrance

1:23:35and exits is that historically our high

1:23:38school grade band has been where we

1:23:39receive the most new entries coming in

1:23:42from out of the country.

1:23:46On this next slide, as we start to take

1:23:48a look at first and foremost the

1:23:50entries, um, as noted in the July

1:23:52hearing, um, we are seeing that while

1:23:55enrollment for our non-multilingual

1:23:57students have held steady, there has

1:23:59been a decrease in our multilingual

1:24:01student entries to the district in the

1:24:04last year. One of the things that we've

1:24:05noted here um is we've broken it down by

1:24:08the different categories um is that that

1:24:10is largely because of having a much

1:24:12smaller count of multilingual students

1:24:15actually transferring in to city

1:24:17schools. So if you take a look at those

1:24:19bars um you can sort of see across the

1:24:22board if you go from left to right that

1:24:24that ML overall bar is starting to go

1:24:27down. And then in particular that

1:24:28lighter blue bar at the top is is less

1:24:31than what it was in the prior years.

1:24:33That is the area that we're referencing

1:24:35when we talking about the transfers into

1:24:37city schools.

1:24:41In addition to taking a look at the

1:24:42entries, we also have taken a look at

1:24:44the exits. And so there's one thing to

1:24:46keep in mind when we talk about exits is

1:24:48that exits um comprise a variety of

1:24:51different ways of exiting the system.

1:24:53And so as we walk through this, we're

1:24:55going to take a look at three

1:24:56categories. One being completers. So

1:24:58those are the students that have

1:24:59actually completed the high school

1:25:01requirements. and so they are no longer

1:25:02in our school system. But then we also

1:25:04have transfers. Those are students that

1:25:06have transferred to another school

1:25:08outside of our district. And then we

1:25:10also have withdrawals. Those are

1:25:12students that are no longer receiving a

1:25:14formal education. So when we take a look

1:25:17at the data first and foremost on the

1:25:19left side with our multilingual

1:25:20students, we can see that there has

1:25:22actually been an increase overall in the

1:25:24multilingual student exits. So if you

1:25:26take a look at those bars from left to

1:25:28right, the overall height of the bar um

1:25:30is larger for school year 2526.

1:25:34The other thing that you will note here

1:25:36um in terms of the categories um you'll

1:25:39see that there are increases uh

1:25:41particularly in those those blue bars um

1:25:45for the transfers and the withdrawals.

1:25:48Um we're going to break this down now to

1:25:49take a closer look at what that means

1:25:51for the the categories that we have.

1:25:57So when we take a look at transfers um

1:26:00again this is one of those three

1:26:01categories that we just described in

1:26:03terms of how students can exit the

1:26:04district. One of the things that we have

1:26:06noted here on the left is when we take a

1:26:08look at multilingual st student exits

1:26:11through transfers those have increased

1:26:14for our multilingual students. So again

1:26:16that's the darker blue bar to the left

1:26:18versus what you see for our

1:26:19non-multilingual students which is

1:26:21represented by the lighter blue bar. So

1:26:23we are going in two different directions

1:26:25when it comes to transfer exits.

1:26:28Furthermore, when we take a look at

1:26:29multilingual student transfer exits, one

1:26:32of the things we can do with our data is

1:26:34we can take a look at what types of

1:26:36transfers um are we talking about. And

1:26:38one of the key things we wanted to note

1:26:40is on that far right. That is the

1:26:42category of transfers out of the

1:26:44country. Um and you'll see that that is

1:26:46practically double what we have seen for

1:26:48the two prior years to the tune of 25.2%

1:26:512% of those exits being represented by

1:26:54those that have left the country.

1:26:58For the next set of data, um we're going

1:27:00to take a look at attendance patterns.

1:27:02Um so first we're going to take a look

1:27:03at our attendance rates. Um so on the

1:27:06left side, uh we have the comparison of

1:27:08our multilingual students versus our

1:27:10non-multilingual students. Again, our

1:27:12multilingual students are in the left

1:27:14darker blue bar. Uh so one of the things

1:27:16that we note generally speaking is that

1:27:18we tend to see higher attendance rates

1:27:21for our elementary and middle school

1:27:23students. So you'll see that in the

1:27:24first two sets of bars whereas we tend

1:27:27to see a bit lower rate for our high

1:27:29school students. Furthermore, when we

1:27:32start to take a look at what that means,

1:27:34as we look at multilingual learner

1:27:36attendance specifically by grade band

1:27:38and year over to the right, we can also

1:27:40see that while there have been some

1:27:42increases in overall attendance rates um

1:27:45that are represented across those bars,

1:27:48um and so that is also one of the things

1:27:50that we are are keeping an eye on. Um

1:27:53which is a positive indicator for those

1:27:55students that are actually still in the

1:27:56district that they are actually coming

1:27:58to school more regularly.

1:28:02Now, when it comes to chronic absence,

1:28:04again, chronic absence is defined as

1:28:06students that are absent for 10% or more

1:28:09of our school year. So, with the 180day

1:28:11year, that means that students were

1:28:13absent 18 days or more. Uh, what we

1:28:16noted is that as a district, we've seen

1:28:19meaningful improvements around our

1:28:21chronic absence rates for both our

1:28:23multilingual learners and our

1:28:24non-multilingual learners. So on the

1:28:27bars on the left um you can see the the

1:28:30non multilingual student chronic

1:28:32absenteeism rates. You'll see the yellow

1:28:34bar, the dark blue, and then the lighter

1:28:36blue bar. Those are representing the

1:28:38various grade bands. You'll see those

1:28:40are all going downwards. Similarly to

1:28:43the right where you see the multilingual

1:28:44student chronic absenteeism comparisons,

1:28:47you see that those lines are also all

1:28:49moving downward to the right. The thing

1:28:52that we also noted is our multilingual

1:28:54students generally have had lower

1:28:56chronic absenteeism rates when compared

1:28:59to our non-multilingual students. When

1:29:02we take a look though specifically in

1:29:04terms of the grade bands, one of the

1:29:06things that we noted is that high school

1:29:07multilingual students are chronically

1:29:09absent more than their peers. However,

1:29:11we are starting to see some improvements

1:29:14when we compare the school year 2526

1:29:17data versus the prior year. Um and when

1:29:19we compare that to those students that

1:29:21are non multilingual students

1:29:26as we move from attendance um on to

1:29:29taking a look at some of our measures of

1:29:31academic performance we'll start first

1:29:33with the the with the Maryland

1:29:34comprehensive assessment program that's

1:29:37the MCAP that is the state assessment

1:29:39that uh allows us to understand how

1:29:41students are meeting expectations as it

1:29:43relates to the standards in the content

1:29:45areas of mathematics and English

1:29:47language arts.

1:29:49The first view of the data takes a look

1:29:51at all grades. Um, and so one of the

1:29:53things that we've noted here is that on

1:29:55the left side you can see the

1:29:57proficiency comparison for the last

1:29:58three years. We see that we have

1:30:01increases for each of those years. Um,

1:30:03and then similarly we do see increases

1:30:06at the all ELA level. um on the right

1:30:09side. One of the things that I do want

1:30:11to bring to your attention that is a

1:30:13different dynamic between ELA

1:30:14performance versus math is that because

1:30:17students that actually exit their

1:30:20English language development,

1:30:22they are actually transitioned into the

1:30:25nonML count when it comes to

1:30:27proficiency. So that is something that

1:30:29we do just want to be mindful of um

1:30:32because some of what you're seeing there

1:30:34represented in that increase actually

1:30:36speaks to the fact that we have students

1:30:38that have exited that actually scored

1:30:40proficient on that English language arts

1:30:42assessment. So when we take a look

1:30:44there's the data we actually found that

1:30:45there were 43%

1:30:47of our exited multilingual students that

1:30:50scored proficient and 27% of them

1:30:53actually score proficient on the math

1:30:54MCAP exam as well. So it is something

1:30:57that's a bit nuanced but something that

1:30:59we wanted to bring to the public

1:31:01public's attention um because it helps

1:31:03us understand performance in a different

1:31:05way. Um the other thing that we've now

1:31:07will do is we will break this down by

1:31:09grade band because even though we're

1:31:10seeing overall increases at the all

1:31:12grades level, we do start to see some

1:31:14differences when we take a look at the

1:31:16data by grade band.

1:31:19First we'll take a look at our

1:31:20elementary performance. Elementary is

1:31:22defined as grades three through five.

1:31:25Um, and then over to the left, you'll

1:31:27see that we have increases in elementary

1:31:30uh ML student performance for both math

1:31:32and English language arts. So that's

1:31:34those are the dark blue lines for

1:31:36multilingual students in comparison to

1:31:38the the uh sort of yellow orange line

1:31:41for our nonML students.

1:31:46When we take a look at our middle school

1:31:47ML students, however, that's where we

1:31:49started to see a bit of a difference.

1:31:51So, in terms of math, um, first let me

1:31:54just acknowledge right off the bat, we

1:31:55have a lot of work to do around math

1:31:57proficiency and performance. Um, and so

1:31:59one of the things that you'll see there

1:32:01is that for our multilingual learners,

1:32:03those are all represented on this graph

1:32:04as less than or equal to 5%. Um, which

1:32:07is very, very low. Um, when we take a

1:32:10look at where we are with ELA, um, for

1:32:12grades six to eight, we also we're

1:32:15seeing a decrease. So again, this is a

1:32:16little bit of a different pattern than

1:32:18the overall that includes all of the

1:32:20grade bands um for our multilingual

1:32:22learner students there and their impact.

1:32:27The next grade band disagregation takes

1:32:29a look at high school. Um so one little

1:32:32asterisk about high school performance

1:32:34on the state assessment. First and

1:32:36foremost, when it comes to algebra 1,

1:32:38the algebra 1 assessment results are

1:32:41inclusive of students at any grade that

1:32:43are taking the algebra 1 assessment. So,

1:32:45we do have historically um pretty we

1:32:48have we're seeing increases in terms of

1:32:50the number of students that are

1:32:51participating in the algebra 1

1:32:53assessment by by way of either being a

1:32:55seventh or eighth grader. And generally

1:32:57speaking, those students tend to have

1:32:58higher proficiency rates than the

1:33:00students that are in nth grade and

1:33:01taking the algebra 1 assessment. The

1:33:03thing that I do want to acknowledge here

1:33:05again, math tends to be a bit more

1:33:07challenging on the proficiency front

1:33:09than our English language arts. And when

1:33:11we take a look at our multilingual

1:33:13student performance there, we actually

1:33:14saw a bit of a decline versus the prior

1:33:17year where we're seeing an increase

1:33:19overall. Uh when we take a look at the

1:33:21nonML student uh performance

1:33:24over to the right, English language arts

1:33:27in the 10th grade. Um we are seeing

1:33:29increases across the board both for our

1:33:32nonML as well as our multilingual

1:33:34students. One of the things that I'll

1:33:36also note here is that if we look at the

1:33:38increase from school year 2425 to 2526,

1:33:42we actually saw a slightly larger

1:33:44increase among our multilingual

1:33:46students. So there's a 4.1 point

1:33:48increase for those students versus 3.5

1:33:51for our nonML students.

1:33:56The next view of data updates that we'll

1:33:58take a look at is our suspensions

1:34:00activity. So to orient you to the

1:34:02information on this slide first, the

1:34:05slide on the left gives us the out of

1:34:08school suspension rates by comparison

1:34:10for our multilingual students versus our

1:34:12non-multilingual students. Overall, not

1:34:15only have the rates held steady for the

1:34:18past three years for our multilingual

1:34:20students, they're very, very low. So

1:34:22it's showing up as less than or equal to

1:34:245% which is what you see represented

1:34:26here. We did see a slight increase for

1:34:29our nonML students and our out of school

1:34:31suspension rates last year. Um, as a bit

1:34:34of a side note, uh, one of the things

1:34:35that we've looked into that has

1:34:37contributed to this, um, in part has

1:34:39been the way our cell phone policy has

1:34:41been implemented and how that has had

1:34:44impacts around student conduct in

1:34:45schools. Um, and so that is some of what

1:34:48is contributing to increases where you

1:34:49see them in our suspension data.

1:34:52Uh over to the right side, um this is

1:34:55where we take a look specifically at our

1:34:57out of school suspensions for

1:34:58multilingual students by gradeband. And

1:35:01so a couple of key things to note here.

1:35:03So again, when we take a look at that

1:35:05less than or equal to 5%, that is really

1:35:08predominantly in our elementary grade

1:35:10band. That also represents the majority

1:35:11of our ML students in our district when

1:35:13you think about the distribution of

1:35:15students by grade band. Um but then we

1:35:17are seeing a bit of an uptick for the

1:35:19middle school students and a decrease

1:35:21for our high school students. So we have

1:35:23some different things going on um at the

1:35:25high excuse me um for our ML students

1:35:28there.

1:35:31The next few slides are going to give us

1:35:33some insights based on student responses

1:35:36to the Maryland climate the Maryland

1:35:38school survey. First let me just give a

1:35:41bit of an overview around what this

1:35:42survey is and how it is used. This is

1:35:45the state's climate survey that is used

1:35:48for accountability purposes. So, if

1:35:49you're familiar with the report card

1:35:51ratings, um this is an input into those

1:35:54report card ratings. Um as noted here,

1:35:56you'll see that there are four domains.

1:35:58Um and within those four domains, there

1:36:01are 10 topics. So, one of the things

1:36:03that we will do is we'll provide a brief

1:36:04overview of those topics. We will take a

1:36:07look at the data in aggregate and then

1:36:08we'll also take a look at some of the

1:36:10data by topic. um to orient you to the

1:36:13survey. Again, there are students that

1:36:15take this assess, excuse me, take this

1:36:17survey um in grades 5 through 11. They

1:36:21take it in the spring. The

1:36:22administration experience in some ways

1:36:24is similar to an assessment experience.

1:36:26Uh again, because it is used for state

1:36:28accountability. In terms of how it's

1:36:30scored, it's scored on a scale of 1 to

1:36:3210 with 10 in being the indicator of

1:36:34having the most favorable responses for

1:36:37that particular topic. In terms of

1:36:40interpreting the results, uh, one of the

1:36:42things that we look at obviously are the

1:36:43average scores. If the average scores

1:36:46are above 5.5, those are considered more

1:36:49favorable. Those that are 5.5 or less or

1:36:53lower are considered less favorable. And

1:36:55then when we comes to the data that

1:36:57we're going to take a look at, um, I

1:36:59will just spoiler alert, um, share with

1:37:02you, we are seeing some differences in

1:37:04the 2526 results versus what we've seen

1:37:06historically.

1:37:09In terms of the topics, I'm not going to

1:37:11read this slide to you, but I did want

1:37:13to include it in the deck because I

1:37:14think it's a helpful reference. Um, but

1:37:17what this does is this gives you each of

1:37:19the 10 different topics. You can see the

1:37:22survey itself was intended to be

1:37:23somewhat comprehensive and cover a

1:37:25variety of areas. Um, so within the

1:37:28community area, we look at things like

1:37:30respect for diversity, participation,

1:37:31and engagement. There are environment

1:37:34related items, safety in a variety of

1:37:36ways from physical to emotional. We also

1:37:38look at bullying and substance abuse and

1:37:41then relationships. Um recognizing the

1:37:43importance of relationships when it

1:37:44comes to strengthening the school

1:37:46environment.

1:37:49When it comes to the survey results, um

1:37:51the first view of the results we'll take

1:37:52a look at takes a look at all of the

1:37:55topics combined. Um so here we're taking

1:37:57a look at average scores. First and

1:37:59foremost, we're comparing the scores of

1:38:01our multilingual students versus uh

1:38:04versus all students otherwise. Um and

1:38:06really what this is getting at is the

1:38:08fact that our multilingual students tend

1:38:10to overall have a more favorable

1:38:12response when it comes to these climate

1:38:15um topics. So that is what we see here.

1:38:17[clears throat] But we also are starting

1:38:19to see from 2425 to 2526 that overall

1:38:22average has started to go down a bit. So

1:38:24that's that decrease from 5.38 to the

1:38:275.26.

1:38:32This next slide then breaks down those

1:38:33survey results by grade band. Um so here

1:38:37as we take a look at the results first

1:38:39we note that for our elementary student

1:38:41perceptions those are at the highest

1:38:44level in the last for the past three

1:38:46years. So that's that dark blue bar that

1:38:48you see across the top. Again it's

1:38:51listed as grade five because that's the

1:38:52only elementary grade that actually

1:38:54participates in this particular survey.

1:38:57When we take a look at where we are with

1:38:59middle and high school students, um you

1:39:02can see that there are decreases um that

1:39:04are showing up there in our data. So

1:39:06both middle and high school are now

1:39:08below five um in terms of the results

1:39:11represented here.

1:39:16This last slide um again is intended to

1:39:19give you some information by topic. Um

1:39:21so there's a lot on this slide so just

1:39:23bear with me as I sort of walk you

1:39:24through it. So first and foremost um

1:39:28this slide includes the average scores

1:39:31for each of three years. And so the

1:39:34first thing that we have done here is

1:39:36we've actually rate rank ordered these

1:39:38based on the one-year change from 2425

1:39:42to 2526.

1:39:44So the three topics that are listed at

1:39:46the top those are topics that saw the

1:39:49largest amount of a decrease versus the

1:39:51prior year. Those are the behavioral and

1:39:53academic supports, participation and

1:39:55engagement and physical environment. Um,

1:39:58I will make a special note here.

1:40:01Physical environment is one of those

1:40:03topics that tends to be a lowly low

1:40:06favorability rated topic. You can see

1:40:08across the board those have never really

1:40:10been above 5.0. Um, and there are a

1:40:13couple of others that sort of fall into

1:40:14that same category. So that's just

1:40:16something that gives you additional

1:40:17perspective around just in general how

1:40:20students um tend to consider um the

1:40:24school climate in that particular area.

1:40:26Furthermore, um when we take a look at

1:40:28where we see some increases um we did

1:40:31see some improvement um in terms of the

1:40:34three that are towards the bottom. So

1:40:35that's where your physical safety,

1:40:37substance abuse, and studentto student

1:40:39relationships are showing increases

1:40:41versus the prior year. The other thing

1:40:44that I will note um is even though we

1:40:46saw a decrease um in emotional safety,

1:40:49emotional safety was still at 5.65 which

1:40:52sort of puts it in that category of

1:40:55being a bit more on that more favorable

1:40:56side. So again the key takeaway in terms

1:41:00of looking at these results is number

1:41:01one we are starting to see some impacts

1:41:04in the data um from the prolonged

1:41:06experiences that students are having as

1:41:08this ongoing ICE enforcement um has been

1:41:11taking place. Um but there are also

1:41:14evidence where we've been able to

1:41:15maintain a level of steadiness through

1:41:17the supports that our schools are

1:41:18providing. So it is a mixed picture um

1:41:21and it is something that obviously we we

1:41:24pay close attention to and we will be

1:41:26continuing to track um as we're moving

1:41:28through this school year. So with the

1:41:31overview of the data um we will now have

1:41:33an opportunity to hear a bit more about

1:41:34voices from the field. Um so I'm going

1:41:36to to Chief Hike Hubard for her to do

1:41:39the introduction and then we will go

1:41:41from there.

1:41:42Yep. So, as we close out our

1:41:44presentation, we have um three community

1:41:47school coordinators. Sorry, thank you

1:41:49for reminding me. Um we are fortunate

1:41:51enough to have community school

1:41:52coordinators in every single one of our

1:41:54schools because of Conra Races of

1:41:56Poverty Grant offered by the state. We

1:41:58also have mental health supports in all

1:41:59of our schools as well. And I urge any

1:42:01student who is seeking that support to

1:42:03reach out to their coordinator or

1:42:04principal or someone at their school to

1:42:05find those supports and where they are.

1:42:08But today, um, these folks here are the

1:42:10ones who can best tell you how they

1:42:12provide resources to support our

1:42:13families on the ground. And so, you're

1:42:15going to hear from three of our

1:42:16incredible coordinators directly. First,

1:42:18you're going to hear from Anna Scribner

1:42:20from Grayson O'Donnell Heights, Kendra

1:42:22Summer from Marie G. Fairing, and last

1:42:24but not least, Heidi Weiss Bey from Wolf

1:42:26Street Academy. And when they finish,

1:42:28that will close out our presentation.

1:42:34>> Good afternoon.

1:42:36My name is Anna Scribner and I am the

1:42:40community school coordinator at Gracland

1:42:42Park or Donna Heights Elementary Middle

1:42:44School and I've been there for nine

1:42:47years. Um

1:42:50the Y central Maryland is the agency

1:42:54that I'm working under uh in order to um

1:42:58carry out and implement the um community

1:43:02school strategies. and they're in 36

1:43:05other schools also. Um the work of a

1:43:09community school coordinator is never

1:43:12never ending as there is always a need

1:43:16to connect families with services and

1:43:20resources. However, I tell you it's very

1:43:24very incredibly rewarding.

1:43:28Our families know that Graceland is a

1:43:30safe place where support is always

1:43:34available. Families also know that

1:43:37Graceland is a community uh school

1:43:40committed

1:43:42to providing resources,

1:43:44addressing needs, and supporting the

1:43:48well-being of the entire community. Um

1:43:53most recently a parent who was familiar

1:43:57with the work of the school uh connected

1:44:01another parent with me. Um the parent

1:44:05had come to pick up two children after

1:44:10um a spouse was detained when the spouse

1:44:14went to immigration court.

1:44:17Um I provided information for CASA

1:44:21uh helped the parent to assess the

1:44:23organization

1:44:25uh service by scanning the Qur code that

1:44:28we keep posted and um I provided food to

1:44:33support the family in during this

1:44:35difficult time. As a member of the

1:44:38school wellness team, I continue to stay

1:44:43in contact with the family and ensuring

1:44:47that we provided services and support

1:44:50for both children that are in the

1:44:53school. Um eventually uh the spouse was

1:44:57released. Um, this experience

1:44:59demonstrated the importance of building

1:45:03trust within our community and ensuring

1:45:07that families know that Graceland is a

1:45:11place where support, resources,

1:45:15compassion are a available when

1:45:19challenges arrive in difficult times. We

1:45:22are there for them. So, the job is very

1:45:26very rewarding.

1:45:28Thank you.

1:45:36Uh good afternoon, council members. Uh

1:45:38and thank you for allowing me to share

1:45:40my experience at Marie G. Fairing

1:45:41Elementary Middle School. My name is

1:45:43Kendra Summers. I have been at the

1:45:45school for 7 years, a community school

1:45:47site specialist for four years, and

1:45:50lived in the neighborhood around the

1:45:51school for 13 years. I've had the

1:45:53privilege of working closely with our

1:45:55students and their families and have

1:45:56never had as many requests for resources

1:45:58stemming from immigration related

1:46:00experiences as we have had recently. One

1:46:03of the first moments that has stayed

1:46:04with me is when a family shared that

1:46:06they had decided to leave the country

1:46:07out of fear. I had to hold back my

1:46:10emotions to to wish them well and tell

1:46:12their children that I would miss them,

1:46:13but they would do well wherever they

1:46:15went. This was the first of many

1:46:17families whose lives would be disrupted

1:46:18by that fear.

1:46:20We've sat with students at school while

1:46:22their parents attended immigration court

1:46:24dates or check-ins, witnessed children

1:46:26worrying about whether their person

1:46:28would be detained or allowed to return

1:46:29home that day. Students have shared that

1:46:32adults in their house were deported and

1:46:34they now feel that their leader is in

1:46:36their house so that they can't cry. We

1:46:38have also had families reach out to us

1:46:40because the breadwinner is suddenly

1:46:42gone. So, we have to help them navigate

1:46:44paying bills, applying for energy or

1:46:46rental assistance, applying for

1:46:48passports, making safety plans if

1:46:50something happens to them, and support

1:46:51them in their transition to head of

1:46:53household as much as we can. And then,

1:46:56while administering testing, we've had

1:46:58students turn to the adult in the room

1:46:59and ask, "But miss, why are we doing

1:47:01this? What's the point if we aren't

1:47:03going to be here much longer?" Think

1:47:05about that for a moment.

1:47:08These are children who should be

1:47:09thinking about their education, their

1:47:10dreams, their next grade, and the

1:47:12possibilities ahead of them. Instead,

1:47:14they're questioning whether they will

1:47:16even be here long enough for their

1:47:17education to matter. We can encourage

1:47:19students to work hard, plan for their

1:47:21futures, and believe in themselves. But

1:47:23how do we ask a child to believe in a

1:47:25future when they are afraid that they or

1:47:27their family may not be here for it?

1:47:29They deserve classrooms where their

1:47:30attention is on their education. Every

1:47:32child deserves to believe that their

1:47:34future is worth working toward and that

1:47:37the adults around them will do

1:47:38everything that they can to help them

1:47:40reach it. At fairing, we do this by

1:47:42creating a safe space for them, which

1:47:44sometimes looks like having lunch in a

1:47:45trusted adults office because the

1:47:47cafeteria is too much that day. We also

1:47:49connect them with our inschool

1:47:50therapists and local resources like Casa

1:47:52and Nema among others while we support

1:47:55with whatever we can at our level at the

1:47:57school. Thank you.

1:48:03Good afternoon, members of the Baltimore

1:48:05City Council. Thank you for the

1:48:06opportunity to speak how immigration

1:48:08enforcement activities affecting our

1:48:10students, families, and school

1:48:12community. My name is Heidi Weiss Bey. I

1:48:15have been the community school

1:48:16coordinator at Wolf Street Academy for

1:48:18three years. I work closely with

1:48:20families to help them navigate

1:48:22challenges, support their well-being,

1:48:24and I take the responsibility of helping

1:48:26every family very seriously.

1:48:29Since I began in this position, I've

1:48:31contact I've connected families to

1:48:32health care, behavioral health, food

1:48:34assistance, legal resources, community

1:48:36support. Over the past few years,

1:48:39however, the past two years, the

1:48:41landscape of need and support has

1:48:42changed. Increased immigration

1:48:44enforcement in Baltimore City is

1:48:46touching nearly every family in some

1:48:48way. They are afraid of ICE, and that

1:48:50fear is in our school.

1:48:53As a halfcolian woman, I no longer walk

1:48:56across the street to buy a Coke with

1:48:58just to buy a Coke. Now I have to walk

1:49:01with my license in my pocket and a

1:49:03picture of my passport on my phone

1:49:05because I too am afraid. An 88-year-old

1:49:08grandmother picks up her grandkids after

1:49:09school. She told me she had started

1:49:11taking she started carrying her

1:49:13naturalization paperwork with her again

1:49:16that she obtained in 1967 and hadn't

1:49:19carried since.

1:49:21With our families, I've had more

1:49:23conversations about the impact of ICE

1:49:25than any other issue this school year or

1:49:27at any point in my career. After several

1:49:29family members were detained last year,

1:49:31attendance dropped noticeably at one is

1:49:34at what is one of our best attended

1:49:36family events. People were afraid to

1:49:39leave their homes. Our students noticed

1:49:41their absence and the broader community

1:49:43felt the impact.

1:49:45Fear spreads quickly and children absorb

1:49:47that fear. Whether the target of ICE

1:49:49enforcement was in their household of

1:49:51friends, their neighbors or someone in

1:49:54the news. Now students ask whether a

1:49:56classmate was taken by ICE when they are

1:49:58absent instead of whether they caught a

1:50:01cold.

1:50:03A family walked by Woof about a month

1:50:06ago. I recognized need and I gave them

1:50:08food and books. The little girl opened

1:50:11it and she said in Spanish, "I know my

1:50:13numbers." She saw a number line and she

1:50:16counted from 1 to 8 and then said in

1:50:18Spanish, "What comes after 8 again?" She

1:50:22was 6 years old. I asked her what school

1:50:25she attended and the parents told me

1:50:27they had not enrolled her in school

1:50:29because they were too afraid of ice.

1:50:32We want our kids to think about what

1:50:34they're learning, reading about long

1:50:36division, science projects instead of,

1:50:40as some have been, worrying about

1:50:41whether their parents will be home when

1:50:43they return from school or whether

1:50:45attending a school festival is worth the

1:50:47risk. A student was in a panic,

1:50:49displaying separation anxiety a day in

1:50:51September because their mother was an

1:50:53atm hearing that day. They thought they

1:50:56might never see her again.

1:50:58I am deeply grateful for partners such

1:51:00as CASA, the mayor's office on immigrant

1:51:02affairs, healthcare providers, community

1:51:04organizations that help school staff

1:51:07meet the needs of families. I am also

1:51:09incredibly grateful for the leadership

1:51:11of our principal, the dedication of our

1:51:13students, support staff, and the

1:51:15commitment of Baltimore City Public

1:51:16Schools to serve every child who walks

1:51:19through our doors. I share these

1:51:21experiences to ensure that the realities

1:51:23facing many Baltimore families are

1:51:24understood. When families live in fear,

1:51:27children carry that burden into

1:51:29classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and

1:51:32their hearts. This is creating

1:51:34generational trauma.

1:51:37But when we collaborate to make families

1:51:39feel safe and supported, children are

1:51:41better able to learn, participate, and

1:51:43succeed. I ask that all of us in this

1:51:46room and elsewhere continue working

1:51:48together to ensure that every Baltimore

1:51:50family can access school services and

1:51:53community resources without fear. Our

1:51:56children deserve the opportunity to

1:51:58focus on being children. And our

1:52:01families deserve the dignity and

1:52:03security that allow them to support

1:52:05their children's success. Thank you so

1:52:07much for your time and commitment to

1:52:09Baltimore's children and families.

1:52:14And we will close the way we open with a

1:52:17moment of uh gratitude. Thank you for

1:52:19the opportunity um to be before you

1:52:22again particularly around the data

1:52:24pieces. And also want to take a moment

1:52:26to thank our community school

1:52:28coordinators for the work that they for

1:52:30being here today and for the work that

1:52:32they do every single day on behalf of

1:52:33children and families in Baltimore City

1:52:35Schools. Um, I think the other thing

1:52:38that we would um like to close by saying

1:52:40is that it is important to note that

1:52:42whatever um ways we are keeping our

1:52:45young people safe and our families and

1:52:47being responsive to communities is

1:52:50directly connected to the incredible

1:52:51work that our school leaders and our

1:52:53school-based staff do each and every

1:52:55day. Um, thank you so much. We're happy

1:52:57to entertain questions.

1:52:59>> Thank you, Baltimore City Public

1:53:00Schools, especially Dr. Grant, Chief

1:53:03Hike Hubard, uh, Chief Jones, and of

1:53:06course our three community school

1:53:07coordinators, uh, Miss Scribner, Miss

1:53:09Summers, and Miss Weissy. Really

1:53:11appreciate everything. We'll have some

1:53:12questions, I think, once we finish up

1:53:14our other reports.

1:53:16Uh, we'll turn our attention, uh, to uh,

1:53:19the Department of Health.

1:53:24>> Hi, good afternoon.

1:53:27Um, Julia Ro, legislative affairs

1:53:29director from the Baltimore City Health

1:53:30Department. Um, unlike our colleagues,

1:53:34we don't have a PowerPoint for you

1:53:35today. Um, but as we shared in the

1:53:39report that we submitted initially for

1:53:40this hearing, um, this is of course

1:53:42something that's incredibly concerning

1:53:45for us uh, from the perspective of being

1:53:47concerned about the well-being of any

1:53:50children in our community and their

1:53:53families. Um very fortunately we have

1:53:58not uh seen an impact um in terms of our

1:54:03programs and services. Although I should

1:54:06note that um at the school-based health

1:54:09centers and health suites that we

1:54:12operate in city schools, we don't um

1:54:16disagregate data by ethnicity or

1:54:19national origin. Um, so it is possible

1:54:22that there might be changes there, but

1:54:23we're just not capturing them um in that

1:54:26data. Um, but but again, thank you.

1:54:29Appreciate your attention to this topic,

1:54:31and we're happy to answer any questions.

1:54:33>> Thank you very much, Julia. Uh, MOCFS.

1:54:38>> Good afternoon, Chair Parker, Vice Chair

1:54:41Ramos, Vice President Middleton, uh, Dr.

1:54:44Brooks, the executive director of the

1:54:45Mayor's Office of Children and Family

1:54:47Success. Uh I just want to say that

1:54:49MLCFS is actually a partner to all of

1:54:52everyone that's in this room. Uh we work

1:54:55have worked very closely with MIMA um

1:54:57from early on to provide um training

1:55:00know your rights um how to engage with

1:55:04um with ICE not only with our head start

1:55:06staff but also with all of our CAP

1:55:08center community action partnersh center

1:55:10staff and also with all of our partners

1:55:13that are providing safe passage for our

1:55:15schools. We have safe passage at 14

1:55:18schools and 12 campuses and we work very

1:55:21closely in collaboration with Baltimore

1:55:23City Police Department, Baltimore City

1:55:25Schools as well as our partners. And so

1:55:29we provide ongoing training, trauma

1:55:31training as well as continued know your

1:55:34rights um and um how to engage with ICE.

1:55:37Also at our CAP centers um we work very

1:55:40closely with school community

1:55:42coordinators to provide resources for

1:55:45the families at back to school nights at

1:55:47community engagement nights and in some

1:55:49of our schools and I'll just give one

1:55:51example um uh Baybrook is one of them

1:55:54where we have actually provided

1:55:56opportunities where we actually go into

1:55:58the school to reduce barriers for our

1:56:00families because I know some of our

1:56:02families feel more safe going to schools

1:56:04rather than coming into governmental

1:56:05agencies. So we've partnered with a

1:56:07number of school community coordinators

1:56:09where we actually have a day once a week

1:56:12where we actually go into the schools to

1:56:13provide the resources for energy

1:56:16assistance um water assistance case

1:56:19management and others to be able to

1:56:21support. Also just like schools our CAP

1:56:24uh centers do not collect immigration or

1:56:27citizensship status. Um we also work

1:56:29very closely with CASA. We also have

1:56:32multilingual staff at our CAP centers um

1:56:35to be able to provide those resources um

1:56:37for our families. And so as we will

1:56:40continue to support um MIMA, health

1:56:43department, city schools um with

1:56:46whatever resources um to ensure that not

1:56:49only that our families have the

1:56:50wraparound support, but that our young

1:56:52people feel safe traveling to and from

1:56:54school and feel safe in school. Thank

1:56:56you.

1:56:58>> Thank you so much, Dr. Brooks. Um we've

1:57:02invited uh two other kind of partners I

1:57:06should say to also give some um

1:57:08presentations today. Uh we'll turn to

1:57:11Dan Rabbit uh director of policy at

1:57:14Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore.

1:57:18>> Uh good afternoon everyone. And I I sent

1:57:20a little slide deck. Um, I don't know if

1:57:23someone has a clicker I could borrow or

1:57:26I should just ask

1:57:29or I can you just advance them for me or

1:57:33>> Thanks.

1:57:35[clears throat]

1:57:40>> Okay. Yeah, no worries.

1:57:48Yeah, just as as things get pulled up,

1:57:51um you know, I'm with Behavioral Health

1:57:52System Baltimore. Um BHSB is the local

1:57:56behavioral health authority here in

1:57:58Baltimore City. Uh we oversee the full

1:58:01range of mental health and substance use

1:58:02services. Um and um we're glad that

1:58:08those services are available and um

1:58:12would imagine that that they're more

1:58:14needed than ever um due to the

1:58:16immigration enforcement that we've been

1:58:18seeing.

1:58:46And and I don't need to hold things up.

1:58:48I mean, I can just share some more

1:58:50information from my recollection if if

1:58:53that's easier.

1:58:57in recess.

1:58:58>> Uh, thanks J. We'll be in recess for two

1:59:00minutes while we pull this up. Sorry to

1:59:01slow us down.

1:59:06>> Folks, we are back from recess. Thank

1:59:08you so much for your patience.

1:59:10And Dan, if you'll uh take us away.

1:59:13>> Sure. Thank you, Chair Parker, Vice

1:59:15Chair Ramos, um, members of the

1:59:17committee. [laughter]

1:59:19Thank you again for inviting us. Uh this

1:59:21is of critical importance to the mental

1:59:23health and substance or the mental

1:59:25health of uh Baltimore City residents.

1:59:28So we're happy to be here. Um again, I'm

1:59:30Dan Rabbit, policy director with

1:59:32Behavioral Health System Baltimore. Um

1:59:36and I just wanted to lift up one of the

1:59:39key mental health resources that we're

1:59:40always promoting as a important

1:59:42component to uh supporting the mental

1:59:46health of uh the immigrant community

1:59:48here in Baltimore. and that's 988. Uh

1:59:52988 is a three-digit phone number that

1:59:55anyone can call any time of day. It's

1:59:58free and importantly, it's confidential.

2:00:00When you call 988, they don't need your

2:00:02name. They don't need your address. And

2:00:05so, uh, we feel like it could be an

2:00:08important resource for people who are

2:00:10experiencing trauma, are trying to

2:00:12process anxiety or just how to get

2:00:15through the day, um, when, um, ICE is,

2:00:19uh, causing stress, uh, in their schools

2:00:21or in their communities. Um, 98 gets

2:00:25approximately 4,000 calls a month here

2:00:27in the city. And importantly to to

2:00:31mention, 988 primarily is about

2:00:33counseling. It's about uh you know

2:00:36talking to someone and helping them and

2:00:38you know processing what you're going

2:00:40through and identifying you know

2:00:42solutions and connecting folks to

2:00:45ongoing resources.

2:00:47Uh something to that many people don't

2:00:50know is that 988 has a Spanish language

2:00:52subn network. It's a press two. When you

2:00:55call 988 there's a little automated

2:00:57message and you press two to go to the

2:00:59Spanish subn network. Um, you also can

2:01:03get uh language access through the

2:01:05language line if if you speak another

2:01:07language, but there's a dedicated

2:01:09Spanish line and proof of citizenship or

2:01:12anything like that. It has nothing to to

2:01:14do with it. Um, what we see is we don't

2:01:17receive a lot of calls through the

2:01:18Spanish language line in Baltimore and

2:01:21that those calls are have been declining

2:01:24since, you know, over the last two

2:01:26years. um you know 24 and a half calls

2:01:30like one call a day or so. So so we

2:01:33think this is a a resource that could be

2:01:35used more. Um

2:01:37we're also seeing that uh identifying

2:01:41Spanish language resources to connect

2:01:43people to has also been more

2:01:45challenging. um but that uh some people

2:01:49have identified WhatsApp as a as a uh an

2:01:53application for communication that that

2:01:55they are more comfortable with. Um, you

2:01:59know, 988 sometimes does uh suggest

2:02:03dispatching other resources in the

2:02:05community to support people who are

2:02:07having a particular uh mental health

2:02:09challenge. And we don't we see that the

2:02:12Spanish language line does not uh you

2:02:14know result in you many many dispatches

2:02:17of mobile crisis at all.

2:02:25[clears throat]

2:02:27Um, BHSB we do try to uh promote uh 988

2:02:32and other mental health resources in

2:02:35Spanish language communities. Uh, our

2:02:37resources are, you know, everything we

2:02:39make uh all the public education

2:02:42materials that we make, we also do in

2:02:44Spanish. Uh, we work with CASA and

2:02:46others uh in our community engagement

2:02:48efforts. Um, and so we're we're hoping

2:02:51that both 988 and other mental health

2:02:53resources become more more familiar,

2:02:56more accessible.

2:02:58Um, and just another thing to mention

2:03:00that we're concerned about is uh

2:03:02Medicaid access. Certain immigrant

2:03:05communities lost Medicaid access due to

2:03:07the congressional law that was passed in

2:03:102025, HR1.

2:03:13Um, some communities lost access

2:03:15entirely on October 1st of this year.

2:03:19people with refugee status, society

2:03:21status, some other uh protected classes

2:03:24or or immigrant classes. Um but most

2:03:28families and children uh remain eligible

2:03:31for Medicaid and so we're hopeful that

2:03:34we don't see a decline in Medicaid

2:03:37coverage. Um you that's kind of the the

2:03:40front door like the main source of

2:03:42funding and access for mental health

2:03:44mental health treatment.

2:03:47Um, so those just some things that we

2:03:48wanted to lift up that we're tracking

2:03:50and happy to answer any questions when

2:03:53when that comes around.

2:03:54>> Thank you, Dan. Really appreciate you

2:03:55being here and for all the work that

2:03:56BHSB does every day.

2:03:58>> Y, thank you.

2:03:59>> Our final uh person to to share today um

2:04:03comes from St. Paul Baltimore, which

2:04:05operates um among lots of other programs

2:04:08operates uh uh Head Start locations here

2:04:11in the city of Baltimore. Um, and so

2:04:14particular as we think about the impact

2:04:15of immigration enforcement on students,

2:04:16wanted to think in particular about our

2:04:19youngest students and uh that doesn't

2:04:21always come through in the the data that

2:04:22we that we swap around all the time

2:04:24around our our elementary school

2:04:26students and older. And so really

2:04:27appreciate Rhonda Cox, director of

2:04:29family services, uh, being with us this

2:04:31morning.

2:04:34>> Greetings, honorable chair, Baltimore

2:04:36City Council members and assembled

2:04:39guests. My name is Rhonda El Cox. I am

2:04:42serving as the director of family

2:04:44services for St. Vincent Depal Head

2:04:46Start serving 470 families in Baltimore

2:04:50City. At Head Start, we offer early

2:04:53childhood programming. That's preschool

2:04:56education for three and four year olds

2:04:58and families, as well as parent services

2:05:01targeting self-sufficiency, which

2:05:03includes employment, housing,

2:05:06educational, mental health, and

2:05:08parenting resources, just to name a few.

2:05:12Enrollment is based primarily on income

2:05:15being at or below the federal poverty

2:05:17guideline and numerous other factors

2:05:20considered risk. Of our 47,

2:05:24excuse me, 473 and four year olds, we

2:05:27serve anywhere from 120 to 200 Latinx

2:05:31families, many of whom are first

2:05:33generation in the US Spanish speakers.

2:05:37So, we are particularly positioned to

2:05:39add to this discussion. Two of our Head

2:05:42Start centers are in southeast Baltimore

2:05:44at the heart of a lot of the recent ICE

2:05:46activation,

2:05:48particularly up and down the Eastern

2:05:50Avenue. As ICE activity increased in

2:05:53December and January of 2025, fear

2:05:56spread rapidly throughout many of our

2:05:59communities. Families whose visas were

2:06:01nearing expiration often chose to

2:06:04self-deport rather than seek renewal,

2:06:06and many others worried about the

2:06:08uncertainty surrounding their future.

2:06:12As early childhood professionals, we

2:06:14recognize that families need

2:06:16information, support, and reassurance.

2:06:20We partnered with community

2:06:21organizations including CASA and legal

2:06:24aid providers to better understand how

2:06:27we could continue providing highquality

2:06:29early childhood education while

2:06:32supporting families navigating fear and

2:06:35uncertainty. We distributed know your

2:06:38rights materials, posted signs

2:06:42identifying our centers as private

2:06:44property, and trained staff on how to

2:06:46respond appropriately should ICE agents

2:06:49seek access to our facilities.

2:06:53Our goal was simple, to ensure families

2:06:56felt safe bringing their children to

2:06:58school. Unfortunately, fear persisted.

2:07:03As reports of ICE activity increased in

2:07:05the neighborhoods we serve, many parents

2:07:08chose not to bring their children to

2:07:10school. They delayed enrollment or they

2:07:13withdrew from services altogether.

2:07:16Families shared concerns that regardless

2:07:18of immigration status, they could still

2:07:20be targeted because of their language,

2:07:23ethnicity, or appearance.

2:07:26We also began receiving reports of

2:07:28deportations affecting families

2:07:31connected to our program. Those events

2:07:34created immediate disruption to

2:07:36children's lives and attendance. For

2:07:39young children, stability matters. When

2:07:42routines are interrupted, caregivers are

2:07:45fearful, or family members suddenly

2:07:48disappear from a child's daily life. The

2:07:51effects can be felt emotionally,

2:07:54socially, and academically.

2:07:57The impact extended beyond families to

2:07:59our staff as well. As immigration

2:08:02enforcement activity increased in

2:08:03certain neighborhoods, we had to

2:08:05carefully evaluate outreach and

2:08:08recruitment efforts. Many of our Latino

2:08:12staff members shared similar concerns

2:08:14about entering communities where they

2:08:16might be perceived as targets

2:08:17themselves. Beyond the families that

2:08:20communicated their reasons for leaving,

2:08:22it's hard to measure the loss potential

2:08:24with regards to enrollment. Anecdotally,

2:08:28however, we know that our staff had to

2:08:30work twice as hard to assure families

2:08:33that our sites were safe. Attendance

2:08:35significantly impacted the weeks

2:08:38surrounding specific ICE events.

2:08:41Attendance would rebound once families

2:08:43felt comfortable returning. At times,

2:08:46everyone did not return. Today, more

2:08:49than a year into continued activity, we

2:08:52work every day to establish trust and

2:08:54reassure families and staff that our

2:08:56centers are safe places for their

2:08:58children to learn and thrive and for

2:09:01them to work. Last year, we made the

2:09:04decision to relocate our annual parent

2:09:06orientation from the Enoch Pratt Library

2:09:09on Eastern Avenue to a different venue.

2:09:12The reason families communicated that

2:09:14the risk of attending that location felt

2:09:17too great because of reported

2:09:19immigration enforcement activity in the

2:09:21area. Despite the library being a valued

2:09:24and long-standing community partner, we

2:09:27have not returned to that location for

2:09:29our orientation events. From the private

2:09:32property signs on all the buildings to

2:09:34the staff training and the parent

2:09:36information sessions to changing venues

2:09:39and recruitment plans to avoid hotspots,

2:09:41these immigration enforcements continue

2:09:43to negatively impact the community and

2:09:46our program. I want to be clear that our

2:09:50role is not to determine immigration

2:09:52policy.

2:09:54Our role is to ensure children have

2:09:56access to early childhood education and

2:09:59the opportunities that come with it.

2:10:02What we can speak to directly is what we

2:10:04have witnessed. Families afraid to

2:10:07access services, children missing

2:10:10valuable learning opportunities,

2:10:12enrollment declining, community

2:10:14engagement suffering, and trust being

2:10:17eroded. Regardless of one's views on

2:10:20immigration policy, I believe we can all

2:10:23agree that young children should be able

2:10:25to attend school, participate in

2:10:28educational programs, and access

2:10:30community resources without fear.

2:10:34When fear prevents families from

2:10:35enrolling their children, attending

2:10:37school consistently, or participating in

2:10:40community life, it is our youngest

2:10:42residents who bear the greatest cost. We

2:10:46urge policymakers and community leaders

2:10:48to consider the lasting impact these

2:10:50circumstances have on children,

2:10:53families, and the future of our city.

2:10:56Thank you for your time and for

2:10:58considering the experiences of the

2:11:00children and the families that we serve.

2:11:04>> Thank you so much, Director Cox. We

2:11:05really appreciate all the work that St.

2:11:07Vincent Paul does every day in our Head

2:11:08Start centers and uh and the other ways

2:11:10you support our families. That concludes

2:11:13uh quite a lot of testimony, a lot of

2:11:15data, a lot of really important points

2:11:16here. Really appreciate everybody for

2:11:18sharing. Uh Councilman Ramos and I are

2:11:21here and have a few questions I believe.

2:11:23Uh and really appreciate um the way that

2:11:26so much of the testimony reflected not

2:11:28only what has changed over the last few

2:11:30months, but also uh very much picking up

2:11:32on the questions that we offered last

2:11:34time. Especially I want to especially

2:11:35thank Baltimore City Public Schools for

2:11:37coming with uh uh with a lot of

2:11:39information specifically in those areas

2:11:41that we had that we had asked for last

2:11:42time. So really appreciate that. Madam

2:11:44vice chair questions.

2:11:47>> Oh why don't you start?

2:11:50>> Thank you Mr. [clears throat] Chair. Uh

2:11:51thank you again everyone for being here.

2:11:53Um the students had to go about their

2:11:55day. Um they're very busy. So I'm I'm

2:11:58but I am glad that they took time to be

2:11:59here and thank you all for for being

2:12:02here and for listening to our to our

2:12:04students. Um I have several questions.

2:12:07Um

2:12:09I will start on some data questions.

2:12:12We're doing two questions. Okay. Um

2:12:16first data question goes to Mima on the

2:12:20um deport on the uh arrests. I wanted to

2:12:24just clarify two things. One is that

2:12:27these are Baltimore City residents. Is

2:12:30that right?

2:12:31>> Yes, these are Baltimore City residents.

2:12:34Um, however, this assumes that the ICE

2:12:37officers know that they are in the city

2:12:39of Baltimore.

2:12:41>> So, let me just try

2:12:42>> and they're entering the correct

2:12:44information.

2:12:44>> So, these are resident these the arrests

2:12:47are taking place in Baltimore City or

2:12:50these are Baltimore City residents.

2:12:52There may be some people that are uh

2:12:55arrested that are not city residents,

2:12:57but it happened in Baltimore City.

2:12:59>> I'm not sure if the data differentiates

2:13:01place of residency, so I'll turn it over

2:13:03to Katie to expand on that. But these

2:13:05are um according to the data there. They

2:13:08do differentiate between Baltimore City

2:13:11and Baltimore County. And this these

2:13:13numbers are

2:13:13>> where the arrests took place.

2:13:15>> Is that right?

2:13:16>> That's correct.

2:13:17>> Yes, it's just where the arrest took

2:13:19place. Um they do provide uh country of

2:13:21origin data but not uh where folks

2:13:24specifically reside.

2:13:25>> Okay. Um and so this these were arrests

2:13:30that took place here. Um uh we know that

2:13:34our services paid for by us are for our

2:13:36residents. Um and so that's when we when

2:13:39they call for services we can refer them

2:13:41to to other places. Okay. Thank you for

2:13:44clarifying that. Um

2:13:47the uh other question that I had was the

2:13:50does this include um ICE uh during the

2:13:54check-ins or is it just on the street

2:13:56arrests?

2:13:59>> Uh I'll defer that to Katie.

2:14:01>> I want to double check on that and I'm

2:14:03happy to get back to you. Uh, but from

2:14:05what I remember, we use a variable

2:14:07called landmark in the data set to

2:14:09determine where the arrests occur. And I

2:14:12believe the there the BHR holding room

2:14:14is the Baltimore holding room is listed

2:14:17as one of the locations of arrest, but I

2:14:18would want to double check that if you

2:14:20don't mind.

2:14:20>> If you don't mind, that would be that

2:14:22would be great. Uh, thank you so much. I

2:14:24appreciate that. Um, the second uh data

2:14:27question that I had is for the school

2:14:29system. Um, I have lots of questions,

2:14:32but I'm going to just focus on data for

2:14:33a second.

2:14:34Uh this is data in terms of the endofear

2:14:37enrollment and all of the others. Uh as

2:14:40of the end of the school year, uh when

2:14:44are we going to get to see the September

2:14:4630th numbers?

2:14:48>> September 30th numbers are not finalized

2:14:50until the end of November. So November,

2:14:53December, we'll be able to provide that

2:14:54date as an update.

2:14:56>> Okay. Uh that's helpful. um because I do

2:14:59think that uh they are people that have

2:15:03made decisions over the summer um and a

2:15:05lot more activity over the summer. Uh

2:15:08and so I would imagine that these

2:15:10numbers uh predictably were these were

2:15:13numbers that we predicted in terms of

2:15:15declining enrollment for our

2:15:17multilingual learners um at 8.1% overall

2:15:22uh uh year from the last two years. Uh,

2:15:27I just suspect that it's going to

2:15:28probably be a little bit more um in the

2:15:31September 30th numbers. Um, so I I

2:15:34appreciate that. Will you be able to

2:15:35report us similar data around um at the

2:15:41it's enrollment, but also do you only do

2:15:44entries and exits at the end of the

2:15:47school year or is it that 30th uh

2:15:50September 30th?

2:15:51>> It's really the September 30. I mean we

2:15:53we can just do some level of

2:15:55disagregation. It tends not to be as

2:15:57meaningful in terms of taking a look at

2:15:59that comparison for the exits at that

2:16:02point because really at that point um

2:16:05the withdrawals

2:16:06let me take a step back. We can provide

2:16:09we we include it in what we report. I

2:16:12think part of the question is how how

2:16:15telling will the comparison be. So in

2:16:17terms of getting the data back, one of

2:16:19the things that we will just need to

2:16:21consider in terms of our timeline is if

2:16:23there are specific analyses that you're

2:16:25requesting that we would not normally

2:16:27do, we need to factor that in to the

2:16:30delivery date that we commit to

2:16:31providing you updates. So I would have

2:16:34to circle back with the team to confirm

2:16:36in terms of that particular cut because

2:16:37that's not typically how we focus. we

2:16:40tend to take a look at just like what

2:16:41are the differences and then by

2:16:43different characteristics. We don't

2:16:45typically break out the entrance versus

2:16:46exits at that time of year

2:16:48>> at at the the September 30th date. You

2:16:51do entries and exits looking at

2:16:53throughout the year how that goes. Okay.

2:16:56Correct. And and I say that partly

2:16:57because, you know, keep in mind there

2:16:59are three official state reporting

2:17:01snapshots and there's there can be

2:17:04significant fluctuation in what that

2:17:07looks like over the course of the year.

2:17:09So again, part of the reason that we

2:17:11wanted to bring forward the end ofear

2:17:13comparisons is because we did want to be

2:17:14timely in our responsiveness to wanting

2:17:17updated data. Um, and then in terms of

2:17:19the 930, the 930 also has other

2:17:22implications because when we get our 930

2:17:24count, it doesn't just give us the count

2:17:26of students. That is the count that also

2:17:28informs state funding. So that's right.

2:17:31So in terms of how we look at that data,

2:17:33that tends to be primarily how we focus

2:17:35on what's happening with that analysis

2:17:38is understanding what does it look like

2:17:40for official enrollment versus the

2:17:42eligibility for state funding and what

2:17:44are some of the other um comparisons

2:17:46versus prior year. Got it. Um I I

2:17:49appreciate that. So it's helpful to know

2:17:51that we're going to need to really look

2:17:52at both numbers, the September 30 and

2:17:54the end of year data in order to have um

2:17:57a good uh numbers and try to understand

2:17:59what's happening. So thank you for that.

2:18:01Um

2:18:02>> can I ask a Vice Chair Romance, can I

2:18:03ask a clarifying question?

2:18:05>> Yes. So, I just want to make sure that

2:18:07we're clear in what you're asking for in

2:18:10terms of a 9:30 to 9:30 or are you

2:18:14asking for end of the year enrollment to

2:18:169:30? Cuz I think to Chief Jones's

2:18:18point, that is a different kind of

2:18:21analysis. So, I want to make sure we're

2:18:24clear so we can bring you back what

2:18:25you've asked.

2:18:26>> I very much appreciate your clarifying

2:18:28question. I'm a data person. September

2:18:3030 to September 30. September 30 to

2:18:32September 30. We have to do that. So we

2:18:34have two set my understanding is that we

2:18:36have two sets of data here. We've got

2:18:38September 30 to September 30 data. So

2:18:40you can do comparisons over time

2:18:42September 30 to September 30. And then

2:18:44you've got this data that you provided

2:18:46us which is the end of year data. And

2:18:47that's a separate analysis a separate

2:18:49count at a separate time.

2:18:51>> Correct.

2:18:51>> Totally two different things. That's how

2:18:53it should be presented.

2:18:54>> Does that make sense?

2:18:55>> Thank you for Thank you for that. Yep.

2:18:57>> Um I have a Oh, that's I guess I should

2:19:00make that an official request, too. Um,

2:19:02so I'll uh follow up on that. Um, I had

2:19:05another question about the exits. Um, it

2:19:08is the do you provide a survey for

2:19:12people to respond to as to how you know

2:19:14where the student is going?

2:19:16>> This data is based on actual what gets

2:19:19reported to the state. So we have a a a

2:19:21withdrawal due diligence process that

2:19:24gives us information that then informs

2:19:26what code is entered into the system. So

2:19:29that information is what is used here to

2:19:31determine whether or not the student

2:19:32exited because it was out of country or

2:19:34whatever the other.

2:19:35>> So when the student withdraws and if the

2:19:37if a parent goes through or a guardian

2:19:39or caregiver goes through the formal

2:19:42withdrawal process because that may not

2:19:44always happen but then there is things

2:19:47that they need to answer and then you

2:19:49can code it into correct the okay I just

2:19:52wanted to understand how we were getting

2:19:54this information. Um and it is stark

2:19:58that um the stat here for the public um

2:20:02between school year 23 and 24 which was

2:20:05uh 12.9% of our multilingual students

2:20:08left to go to another country um that

2:20:11now that has basically doubled

2:20:13>> correct over two years

2:20:14>> for to for for this for this year. Yeah.

2:20:18>> Um but I think the exits data is really

2:20:20really helpful. So thank you for for

2:20:22providing that um as well. Yeah, sure.

2:20:26>> So, I had similar questions and I really

2:20:28appreciated what you brought to us

2:20:29today. I see with the the end of your

2:20:31transfer number. So, we have uh uh right

2:20:35we have uh transfer and uh withdrawal

2:20:40and complete right are our three

2:20:41categories.

2:20:42>> Correct.

2:20:43>> And so, uh complete obviously it it is

2:20:45what it is and it's very exciting. We

2:20:47want to celebrate all those students

2:20:48transfer. We have those three categories

2:20:51which I think reference the codes that

2:20:52you were just speaking about with the

2:20:53vice chair of um other state other

2:20:56Maryland public school and other

2:20:57country.

2:20:58>> Right.

2:20:58>> Correct.

2:20:59>> Um withdrawals I feel like maybe because

2:21:02transfer somebody a parent a guardian is

2:21:06taking the initiative to fill out

2:21:08paperwork to set up something formally

2:21:10and answering these surveys at the same

2:21:11time. Withdrawal I feel like may be more

2:21:15complicated uh in terms of getting solid

2:21:18data. So I guess my question is with

2:21:20withdrawals,

2:21:22>> do we have any solid data about what

2:21:25those students are doing moving forward

2:21:29or and and I guess I and I say so along

2:21:32those lines um when when we have

2:21:34withdrawals from uh that are captured

2:21:37here in this data um are those somebody

2:21:40who have taken a a positive step to say

2:21:42I am withdrawing my child or or does it

2:21:44also include people who just stopped

2:21:46showing up? So, so two things. So, one,

2:21:49this withdrawal category here includes

2:21:52multiple codes.

2:21:53>> Okay.

2:21:53>> So, there are codes that indicate that a

2:21:55student is no longer receiving

2:21:57educational services. That tends to be

2:21:59the majority of what's represented in

2:22:01that count. It can also include students

2:22:03that, you know, have reached the age

2:22:05that they're no longer required to come

2:22:07to school and so they are electing not

2:22:09to come to school. Um, so what and it

2:22:12also includes for what it's worth, you

2:22:13know, students that may have passed away

2:22:15so that they're no longer able to be

2:22:18educated. Correct. So some of what we've

2:22:20tried to reflect here is what is the

2:22:22result of our withdrawal due diligence

2:22:24process which actually kicks in based on

2:22:26lack of attendance. And so there are

2:22:28multiple steps that need to happen along

2:22:30the way to make sure that we're

2:22:32following up to understand number one,

2:22:34is it that the student needs additional

2:22:36supports so that we can provide those

2:22:37needs in order to get them back in

2:22:39school. So after a pretty extensive

2:22:41withdrawal due diligence process if it

2:22:43is then determined that that student is

2:22:45not going to return to school that is

2:22:47the point in time where they can

2:22:48actually be exited out of the system. So

2:22:50it does vary depending on which

2:22:52withdrawal code but the process still

2:22:54requires those additional steps so that

2:22:55we're getting the information that we

2:22:57need to try to re-engage first and

2:22:59foremost because that's the number one

2:23:01priority through those outreach efforts.

2:23:03But if in fact the reality is that

2:23:05they're not going to come back to be

2:23:07educated, then they get withdrawn

2:23:09through the system.

2:23:10>> So I really appreciate that. Um I'd like

2:23:12to make a formal request then to to see

2:23:14some of uh some of that underlying data

2:23:16there similar to what you showed us

2:23:18about transfers, but kind of whatever

2:23:19you can break out um including I guess

2:23:22non in the end like how much of it is

2:23:24just simply non-response, right? Because

2:23:25I'm I'm curious what that looks like

2:23:26where you just simply don't hear from or

2:23:28unable to contact. My other question

2:23:31there outside of the committee request

2:23:33is that feels also like a lagging

2:23:35indicator, right? Because because the

2:23:36priority is on re-engaging students and

2:23:38so um uh I'm curious on the withdrawal

2:23:44side um does the data you presented here

2:23:47from last school year, is it actually

2:23:50reflecting students who stopped being

2:23:52engaged in our schools for some reason 6

2:23:56to9 to 12 months before? I I'm I is that

2:23:59something that that either qualitatively

2:24:02here you could discuss or that you have

2:24:04that you have data on like numbers on?

2:24:05>> Well, it is anal it is an analysis that

2:24:07could be done because we do when we

2:24:09process the withdrawals, we can we have

2:24:11an indication around when that

2:24:13withdrawal was processed. So, if part of

2:24:15your question gets to at what point

2:24:17during the year did those withdrawals

2:24:19occur, that's a different analysis.

2:24:22>> Okay? because I'm not because I'm not

2:24:23sure that I'm 100% clear around what is

2:24:25what is the crux of the question because

2:24:27maybe there's a way that I can provide a

2:24:29response.

2:24:30>> So the first official question was just

2:24:32the the the data underlying

2:24:35>> disagregation. Yeah.

2:24:37>> The second part is um anything you can

2:24:41provide either verbally or or

2:24:43quantitatively in terms of um um the

2:24:46chronology of that. Right. So, I

2:24:48appreciate at what point in the year

2:24:49kind of but um that the the official

2:24:52withdrawal comes at the end of a lengthy

2:24:55re attempt at re-engagement um but the

2:24:57students absence from our schools may

2:25:00have occurred

2:25:02some period of time before and I'm

2:25:03curious how long this so for example is

2:25:05the withdrawal data that we're seeing

2:25:07actually reflective of last school year

2:25:08or does it actually reflect um is it

2:25:11such a lagging indicator that it's the

2:25:12school year before

2:25:14>> that the students actually stopped being

2:25:16with us

2:25:17>> right So it it wouldn't be for the

2:25:19school year before. So So in terms of

2:25:22the way the process works, so number

2:25:23one, so going back to the 9:30 count. So

2:25:26that is the first snapshot that requires

2:25:28us to do our attendance reporting on the

2:25:30front end to say, do we have kids that

2:25:31are coming to school that allow them to

2:25:34be included in the 9:30 count? If for

2:25:36whatever reason we learn after the fact

2:25:40that that student should have been

2:25:41withdrawn because we have to complete

2:25:43that withdrawal due diligence process

2:25:44that gets reflected in a backdated

2:25:46withdrawal that would predate the start

2:25:49of the school year. So part of what I

2:25:51was trying to get at is if part of the

2:25:53question is getting to students that

2:25:55have been withdrawn based on time of

2:25:58year, then that can give an indication

2:26:00around whether or not this was something

2:26:02that would may have been the result of

2:26:03what may have happened over the summer,

2:26:05which I think was part of what you were

2:26:07indicating earlier would could be of

2:26:09interest. Great.

2:26:09>> So I think there are ways that we can

2:26:11take a look at this to be able to give

2:26:13some insights around what may be

2:26:15contributing to some of those

2:26:16withdrawals.

2:26:17>> Very good. Thank you so much.

2:26:19um with chronic absenteeism.

2:26:22>> Um is part of does part of that process

2:26:26uh

2:26:28give any useful data on the reasons

2:26:30behind it? Transportation uh uh family

2:26:33health issues um needing to work uh to

2:26:36support the family. What what what kind

2:26:38of data and again I imagine not

2:26:40everybody even if you ask those

2:26:41questions not everybody answers them but

2:26:43is there is there something behind that

2:26:44that gives you a sense of what's driving

2:26:46it? So there is there is data captured

2:26:49when those conversations are happening

2:26:51while those withdraw during that

2:26:52attendance follow-ups. Right? So we have

2:26:55a 1 135710

2:26:57process where we we speak to everything

2:27:00from needing to make a phone call to

2:27:03having to have an email I mean excuse me

2:27:05phone calls home visits capturing

2:27:08whatever engagement has happened within

2:27:10our infinite campus system. What we

2:27:12don't tend to do though it doesn't

2:27:14aggregate those comments in a way that

2:27:16would be able to categorize to say well

2:27:18how many of these is because of this

2:27:20reason or that reason. Now the team that

2:27:22is that is doing that work they have

2:27:24those insights so they can certainly

2:27:26give an overarching sense of what are

2:27:28some of the things that have bubbled up.

2:27:30So we've always sort of monitored it in

2:27:32that way but it's not based on a

2:27:33quantitative analysis to be able to say

2:27:36x percentage of the chronic absence is

2:27:38due to x versus y. It's more based on

2:27:40the work that that happens in the

2:27:42followup.

2:27:42>> Great. And if I if I can just add to

2:27:44that quickly and our coordinators who

2:27:46are sitting right in front of you see

2:27:47that data on a daily basis and they act

2:27:49based accordingly what they hear the

2:27:51family needs as well as the school

2:27:53attendance team. So it isn't a

2:27:55summizable data set but it is an

2:27:57actionable data step where they

2:27:59understand what is needed to support the

2:28:01family or the child in that moment to

2:28:03get them back in school. No, I I really

2:28:05appreciate that and that it's operating

2:28:07at all levels, especially on the on the

2:28:09ground in our schools. Um I so I would

2:28:12make a request then granted that's less

2:28:14quantitative and more qualitative or

2:28:16actionable. I really appreciate the way

2:28:17you phrase that. Um, Chief High covered

2:28:20um specifically for our multilingual

2:28:22students um what the driving factors

2:28:26that they've reported um uh around

2:28:28chronic absenteeism are and how those

2:28:31have changed because I I can imagine

2:28:34lots of what we've been talking around

2:28:35federal immigration policy if if a

2:28:37primary bread winner has left the house

2:28:38if if there's uh a greater need to

2:28:41provide care for for younger um

2:28:43siblings. I can imagine all kinds of

2:28:45things that might drive absenteeism

2:28:47um in addition to fear and anxiety which

2:28:49we've spoken about and uh would would

2:28:52really appreciate hearing the wisdom uh

2:28:54that that you all can share about about

2:28:56that especially as it might impact

2:28:58policy changes either on your side or or

2:29:00on our side.

2:29:02>> Got it. Thank you.

2:29:07>> Um I had a couple questions around um

2:29:10some of the things that the students

2:29:11brought up. Um,

2:29:14one is about, uh, and I think I think

2:29:18every budget season I actually ask about

2:29:19this, um, uh, you know, bilingual staff

2:29:23in the schools, um, that some that are

2:29:25focused on on this issue, but some that

2:29:28are obviously there to, you know, serve

2:29:31our communities. Is there does a school

2:29:34system have like a formula that says for

2:29:37every certain amount of um multilingual

2:29:40students or Latino students that you

2:29:42have to have um staff accordingly for

2:29:46that because it seems like there may be

2:29:49as uh students, you know, we we saw a

2:29:52huge rise in our Latino students uh in

2:29:55the last few years and I know that this

2:29:58had been an issue for several of our

2:29:59families for a long time. Um, so I just

2:30:02didn't know whether there was like a

2:30:03standard that we should be set, you

2:30:05know, having and and you had me and I'm

2:30:06sorry I didn't read the language access

2:30:08plan yet, but I will. Um, so this answer

2:30:10might be in that plan. [laughter]

2:30:12>> Um, but if you know, you can go a little

2:30:15further in that that would be helpful.

2:30:16>> Yeah, I think individual schools have

2:30:18done an amazing job of figuring out how

2:30:20to have bilingual staff in their school

2:30:22buildings. The district had not yet set

2:30:25a standard. Um, we are exploring that

2:30:27now with the work group and in the

2:30:28strategic plan. I'm not going to venture

2:30:31to say what the percentage we think it

2:30:32should be because we're still working

2:30:33that out. But part of the strategic

2:30:36plan, there's there's five components of

2:30:37that plan. One of them is staffing

2:30:40>> and language access at schools. And so

2:30:42looking at how many students you have in

2:30:45your building or sorry, not students,

2:30:47how many families you have that indicate

2:30:49they have a different language and

2:30:50English as our primary language at home.

2:30:52We're trying to push on a certain

2:30:54percentage of schools to have bilingual

2:30:56front office staff and staff available

2:30:57for conferences and that kind of thing.

2:31:00We are offering current services. So, we

2:31:03do have our uh telephonic interpretation

2:31:05system that can aid in a parent

2:31:07conference or a parent conversation that

2:31:09we've trained all of our front office

2:31:10staff and all of our schools to utilize

2:31:12so that you can do an immediate

2:31:14conversation. But that's great for a 15

2:31:1620 minute max conversation. the deeper

2:31:19level of like an IEP meeting. We have

2:31:21translators, interpreters that are

2:31:22provided by the district. The school

2:31:24just requests them and they get the

2:31:26person to come in for those meetings.

2:31:28But we need them for all parent

2:31:30conferences. We need them for all um uh

2:31:34oh

2:31:36MTSS meetings, right? The support

2:31:37meetings. It it is part of that plan is

2:31:40how can schools if they don't have the

2:31:42site on-site support. The strategic plan

2:31:45does acknowledge that we need to bolster

2:31:47up and put more resources in to that

2:31:49service where schools can call and have

2:31:51somebody for example during parent

2:31:52conference time on site to support those

2:31:54meetings. And then u again making sure

2:31:57we're continuing the IEP meetings and

2:31:58that kind of stuff. And then eventually

2:32:00having bilingual staff at schools. I

2:32:02will be very clear about something

2:32:04though. 99% of our schools have

2:32:06multilingual learners in them

2:32:08>> and the availability of multilingual

2:32:10staff for every one of those schools is

2:32:12probably not realistic. However,

2:32:15populations percentages as you just

2:32:16mentioned where we might want to add

2:32:18staff because of the size of the

2:32:20population, the grain size is something

2:32:22we're parting as part of that plan. But

2:32:24please by all means go back, look at

2:32:26that strategic plan, look at the next

2:32:27steps, and I'm happy to follow up with

2:32:28more questions of that later if you'd

2:32:30like.

2:32:30>> Yeah, I I appreciate that. I think part

2:32:32of uh allowing um families uh and

2:32:36students to feel safe um in the school

2:32:38is being able to speak the language and

2:32:40be able to learn. Um and I would venture

2:32:43to say that having um staff rather than

2:32:46the the text or the language line or

2:32:47whatever is extremely important. Um and

2:32:51I would also say that um you know I am

2:32:54one of those parents that emails the

2:32:55teachers all the time about what's going

2:32:58on with my kids. So if I can't speak the

2:33:00language to my you know to the teacher

2:33:03in an immediate situation where I say

2:33:05you know hey my student said this y x y

2:33:08and z and I need to like we need to

2:33:10build a system where um the the family

2:33:15member may be able to either go to

2:33:17somebody to say hey I've got to talk to

2:33:18the teacher or some some way so that

2:33:21it's not just in the formal settings but

2:33:22also in the informal settings. Yeah, we

2:33:25have a we have a

2:33:26>> You're not shocked that I actually walk

2:33:27you talk to my

2:33:28>> We have exploring a tool right now that

2:33:31would create two-way communication in

2:33:32that you would write in your home

2:33:34language. It would come back in English

2:33:36to the teacher. The teacher would write

2:33:38back in English. It would go back in the

2:33:39home.

2:33:39>> Go talk to director

2:33:42at 911.

2:33:42>> Would be simultaneous.

2:33:44>> Yeah, director Riddick at 911 has

2:33:46developed this for 911. So, she may have

2:33:49some good ideas, but I think that's a

2:33:50good good tool because a lot of people

2:33:52text, they're able to, you know, um so I

2:33:56think the more that we can be

2:33:57innovative, um I still want the

2:33:59people-to-people conversations. I think

2:34:01that's really important particularly

2:34:02now. Um but certainly as we can we can

2:34:05do that, and I'm sorry to interrupt you.

2:34:06I was just so excited to say, you know,

2:34:08that that was uh something that was um

2:34:11that was happening. I also wondered if

2:34:16um

2:34:17you know we we have our uh Latino

2:34:20students all across the city. I mean in

2:34:22in a lot of schools and so I didn't know

2:34:24whether there was thinking around you

2:34:28know um having you know transfers if we

2:34:30needed to because of safety issues and

2:34:33whether that that gets facilitated by

2:34:35the um by the community schools

2:34:38coordinators. How does that work? So if

2:34:40a family during this So let me me back

2:34:43up. We have one enrollment period

2:34:45throughout the year for traditional

2:34:46enrollment that is this month of July to

2:34:48the beginning of August.

2:34:50>> Parents can choose to transfer then for

2:34:52no reason. I want to move my school. We

2:34:54we will honor it if there's space at the

2:34:56other school they would like to attend.

2:34:57During the school year there are three

2:34:59ways that a student can leave a school.

2:35:01They move. Their location is different.

2:35:04So we can assign them a different

2:35:05school. The school can request an

2:35:08administrative transfer for other

2:35:09complicated reasons we don't need to get

2:35:11into here. And then a safety transfer

2:35:13can be requested by parents whenever

2:35:15they need. They have to bring in the

2:35:17documentation, work with the school and

2:35:18the enrollment choice and transfer

2:35:20office will offer a safety transfer for

2:35:22students. We have done it in the past

2:35:24depending on the need and want of the

2:35:27family. But it is it is not facilitated

2:35:29through the now the coordinator may

2:35:30provide the parent the information to

2:35:32get over to ECT to take care of that.

2:35:34But we handle those safety transfer

2:35:35requests at the central office.

2:35:37[clears throat]

2:35:38>> Gotcha.

2:35:38>> And we do have support in our mask

2:35:40office. I know Maria Maria Mor sitting

2:35:41behind me that can do them in actual

2:35:44language. It's one of the places in the

2:35:45building where we can actually have live

2:35:46person speaking the home language with

2:35:48the families.

2:35:50>> Thank you. Um and to our community

2:35:51schools coordinators. Um I'm a huge fan

2:35:54of our community schools strategy. Uh I

2:35:57think you all are superheroes. um you're

2:35:59the you know aside from the um educator

2:36:02you're one of the ones that's super

2:36:03trusted in the school system and I

2:36:06wanted to know if you all are feeling

2:36:07like you have the resources that you

2:36:09need information

2:36:11uh whatever you need to be able to

2:36:13support our families uh because each of

2:36:15you described very specific um you know

2:36:18instances of uh what's happening uh to

2:36:21our residents and to their families and

2:36:23just you know the amount of fear um do

2:36:26you do you feel like you've got the

2:36:28resources that you need to be able to to

2:36:31do what you need to do or is there

2:36:32something that we can be helpful with?

2:36:34I'll give you an example. In the last

2:36:35hearing, I talked about um when COVID

2:36:38hit, I sent a a list of um housing

2:36:42resources to the Y because um the Y's in

2:36:45my district and I know that they have

2:36:46and I think that was shared all around

2:36:48and that was very helpful. Um are we is

2:36:51that the kind of are we doing that also

2:36:54for all of you in terms of making sure

2:36:55that anything that the school system is

2:36:57providing comes to you any partners that

2:36:59you're you know I know you end up having

2:37:02to build the list but is there do you

2:37:04feel like you have everything you need

2:37:06and and what is it that you can that we

2:37:08can help you with or the school system

2:37:10can help you with to do what needs to be

2:37:12done to help our our residents whether

2:37:14it's you know mental health support I

2:37:16mean so you need to put your microphone

2:37:20We want to hear your voice. There you

2:37:21go.

2:37:22>> Um I believe that we have what we need

2:37:26to do the job because we do um develop

2:37:30partnerships

2:37:32and these partnerships um help us to

2:37:35meet the needs of a lot of our families.

2:37:38um the school system have given us the

2:37:41policies and um directions in which to

2:37:46go especially when and I was with ice

2:37:50[laughter]

2:37:50>> um when something happens in the area.

2:37:53Um I do know that Holly send everything

2:37:56out policies and so on and so on and we

2:37:59implement those policies right away when

2:38:02something is going on. Um and we do have

2:38:07um within the concentrated poverty

2:38:10grant, we do have um staff

2:38:14and to give our families wraparound

2:38:17services.

2:38:19>> Thank you. I don't know if you all

2:38:21wanted to comment.

2:38:24>> Um I would just say yes. I've been

2:38:26supported at every turn. anytime I've

2:38:28raised a concern or a need if I didn't

2:38:31have it um in my scope uh or list of

2:38:35partners um reaching out to my

2:38:37coordinators. We've got our list serve,

2:38:39we've got our text groups, right? We

2:38:40have all of our chains that we all reach

2:38:42out and someone has something that we

2:38:44can usually um share with each other. Um

2:38:47the one thing and like I said, it's it's

2:38:50constant constant support um I think

2:38:52with each other um and everything else.

2:38:54But if because I feel like, hey, it's an

2:38:57opportunity and you always have to ask

2:38:59for something, right? It would just be

2:39:00that I feel that our mental health case

2:39:02loads fill up very quickly, right?

2:39:05Because right now, everyone is carrying

2:39:07so much, whether you're an adult or a

2:39:08child. Um, and depending on your

2:39:11insurance status, I feel like when I

2:39:13first started as a coordinator, there

2:39:14were a lot more resources for families

2:39:16that didn't have insurance. And I do

2:39:18think that some of those resources have

2:39:20been depleted in the recent years,

2:39:22>> the Medicaid changes. Yeah.

2:39:23>> Mhm. So, um, yeah, absolutely. So, just

2:39:26for me, what I'm seeing in my community

2:39:28is adults and and students that are are

2:39:30actively seeking, uh, mental health

2:39:32care.

2:39:34>> Thank you.

2:39:36>> So, I definitely feel that we have a lot

2:39:39of resources in Baltimore and I feel

2:39:40that especially with the packets the

2:39:42mayor's office um, on immigrant affairs

2:39:45has given us through the um, immigrant

2:39:48information sessions. We conducted one

2:39:50at Wolf in English and one in Spanish. I

2:39:53think those packets are uh very good

2:39:56comprehensive resources that include

2:39:58legal um you know sources of legal

2:40:01advice for families.

2:40:04The one thing that

2:40:06bear with me the one thing that I wish

2:40:07we had more of is time which of course

2:40:10we can't add hours to the day. However,

2:40:12>> I do work for Elevate. That's my lead

2:40:14agency and they have found a way to add

2:40:17hours to my day by now providing

2:40:20interns. I forget the name of the agency

2:40:23that has supplied three interns like I

2:40:26think it's like the workforce center um

2:40:29to three of my colleagues but now they

2:40:31have found somebody else for me who's a

2:40:33graduate student through University of

2:40:35Maryland and she will now be um

2:40:38assisting me as of next week. So that is

2:40:41going to add hours to my day because she

2:40:44can help me with some, you know, more

2:40:46root more rote tasks while I handle the

2:40:50intricate work of helping families.

2:40:52>> Um, they found a way to do that.

2:40:55>> That's impressive.

2:40:56>> Yeah. No, that that's great.

2:40:59>> Since I have all of them reporting up to

2:41:01my office, I just want to add three

2:41:03other quick things that I think I've

2:41:04heard from other coordinators if you

2:41:05would allow me to do so. One, I

2:41:07mentioned in the presentation, rental

2:41:08housing assistance.

2:41:10Absolutely.

2:41:11>> We had the governor's grant through the

2:41:13United Way, which was amazing. And how

2:41:15fast was it gone, Holly?

2:41:16>> Uh, we [clears throat] I don't know how

2:41:19fast, but it was it was it was probably

2:41:20a matter of weeks. That was $5 million

2:41:23not allowed. Matter of

2:41:23>> weeks, three months, it was totally

2:41:25>> shut.

2:41:27And so, just understanding that that's

2:41:29there's only so much we can do there.

2:41:30Yeah.

2:41:31>> Transportation. We've had individual

2:41:33requests of families for us to purchase

2:41:34bus tickets and tokens and that kind of

2:41:36thing. And it's hard for those schools

2:41:38to figure that out. Um like that kind of

2:41:40that kind of purchase isn't something we

2:41:42are really we really can do. Um Holly

2:41:44and I have worked on a couple special

2:41:46cases, but it is a thing. And then I

2:41:48want to reiterate what you just said

2:41:49about mental health. We have resources

2:41:51in place for mental health for our

2:41:52students. um we don't have a lot of

2:41:55mental re health resources for our

2:41:56families and having our community, our

2:41:59city, our health agencies, our our

2:42:01health partners help us with the family

2:42:03referrals would be tremendous.

2:42:05>> Um it's we're we're a universal approach

2:42:08here. And so if we make sure the kids

2:42:10get connected to services at the school

2:42:12site, how do we refer their families to

2:42:14the native supports they need? And I I

2:42:15wrote that 2988 number down, but I

2:42:18appreciate the where else can we prefer

2:42:20refer our families to get that mental

2:42:22health support?

2:42:23Thank you. I know we're going to have to

2:42:25wrap up soon.

2:42:25>> We are.

2:42:26>> Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. I'm going

2:42:28to cover two things real quick and then

2:42:29we have a hard stop at 3:30, so we'll

2:42:31say our final words and say thank you to

2:42:33everybody um as we look towards uh kind

2:42:38of our next data check. And I know I'm

2:42:39I'm curious as is the vice chair um

2:42:41about the September 30th numbers. Um

2:42:44really curious to see and this goes back

2:42:47to what our friends from St. Paul were

2:42:48talking about why we invite them here

2:42:49today. really curious to see especially

2:42:51if we can break out prek in particular

2:42:53and and look at that over a few years.

2:42:56Um obviously it's critically important

2:42:58because that's our our entry point in um

2:43:00but also because it's voluntary and we

2:43:03have to like persuade families to sign.

2:43:04I mean it's that recruitment you were

2:43:05talking about um uh head starts doing it

2:43:08but so are our public prek. I know we

2:43:10were asked uh my colleague I know a lot

2:43:12of our colleagues were asked to help

2:43:13promote prek enrollment this year which

2:43:15always glad to do every single year. Um,

2:43:17and we helped promote Head Start

2:43:19enrollment. Um, but if I recall

2:43:21correctly, at the time I was asked to do

2:43:23that, there were at least two full

2:43:24classrooms that were empty. Um, one in

2:43:27uh in two different schools, uh, preK

2:43:29classrooms. And pre-K seats normally in

2:43:31Southeast Baltimore are really hard to

2:43:33come by. And so, I'm sure that that

2:43:35recruitment effort did something to

2:43:37advance that, but I'm really I'm I'm

2:43:39worried about anxious spout. Um, again,

2:43:41both on the Head Start side, but also on

2:43:43varsity prek. So if we can if we can

2:43:44make sure that we highlight that and

2:43:46break it out individually as well as

2:43:47within the the broader um the broader

2:43:50elementary numbers. The final question I

2:43:52had um do do we track uh enrollment as

2:43:57uh by race and ethnicity um uh or some

2:44:01of the other indicators that we talked

2:44:02about in terms of withdrawals and

2:44:04transfers things like that?

2:44:06>> Yes, we have that information.

2:44:07>> Okay. I know we've been using

2:44:09multilingual as a standin, but we

2:44:11recognize that multilingual is a status

2:44:13that is temporary because our students

2:44:14exit out of it and um and and all the

2:44:16rest. And there's also lots of diversity

2:44:18within our multilingual community that

2:44:20you know it's not one particular

2:44:21ethnicity. So um I'd like to make a

2:44:24committee request uh for enrollment data

2:44:27entry exit transfers um that we talked

2:44:30about today but but broken out by race

2:44:32and ethnicity just so we can have that

2:44:34as as a ciderong piece to think about.

2:44:36Um that would be great.

2:44:38Thank you.

2:44:39>> Got it.

2:44:41>> Good.

2:44:42>> All right. In that case, um I just want

2:44:44to close with a word of thanks. Do you

2:44:46closing statements?

2:44:50>> Great. Um I'll just I'll just close

2:44:53really simply with thanks. Um our um our

2:44:57immigrant students uh uh have been

2:45:00dramatically affected, continue to be

2:45:01dramatically affected by federal

2:45:02immigration policy. Um, and I am

2:45:04grateful that we are in a city um, and

2:45:07part of whether it's city agencies like

2:45:09the ones represented here or our

2:45:11community partners like those who've

2:45:12been here um, or or individual staff

2:45:14members of all these different agencies

2:45:16um, who are uh, where there is a a

2:45:19consistent broad deep dedication to the

2:45:22well-being of all of our students. um

2:45:24and that when changes in the world or

2:45:26changes in federal policy um make some

2:45:28of our students particularly vulnerable.

2:45:30In this case it's it's uh immigrant

2:45:32students uh but at other times and

2:45:33places it's been other members of our

2:45:35community. Um, I'm really encouraged uh

2:45:38that by the way that that we come

2:45:40together and that we take the challenge

2:45:41seriously and that we do everything

2:45:43possible to support our students and and

2:45:45that we and that we keep listening and

2:45:48iterating and thinking about what we can

2:45:50do and what we can do better based on

2:45:52what we're seeing in the needs of our

2:45:53students um in a really urgent way

2:45:55because uh those needs are present here

2:45:57and now and whether it's happening on

2:45:58the ground in our schools with our CSC's

2:46:00or more broadly across the system um I'm

2:46:02really encouraged uh to see uh the way

2:46:05in all of our agencies are um are

2:46:07working together to uh to support and

2:46:09care for those students and their

2:46:10families. So, thank you.

2:46:13>> Um thank you for uh this time. I know I

2:46:16do have a few more questions, but I will

2:46:18um take them offline. I uh think it's

2:46:21it's great that we're all really focused

2:46:23on this. Uh it's unfortunate that we

2:46:25have to be focused on this. It's not a

2:46:27good thing. It's not it's not good that

2:46:29we're faced this way, but we have to

2:46:30make sure that we're sending a clear

2:46:32message to our families and to our

2:46:34students that we want to support them.

2:46:36We want them in school and uh we want

2:46:39that the best for them. And we've got uh

2:46:41we're working on getting the the

2:46:43supports to make them feel um feel safe.

2:46:46Um, you know, we still have to do work

2:46:49on uh being very obvious that uh we well

2:46:52we I am and I think my colleague is too

2:46:55very clear that we want to keep our

2:46:57residents safe. And so um figuring out

2:46:59the best way to continue to send that to

2:47:02to do what we can to make sure that when

2:47:05they're coming to school that they feel

2:47:06safe coming to school as well, not just

2:47:08in the building and around the building,

2:47:09but on the way to school. So, we weren't

2:47:11able to talk a little bit more about

2:47:12that, but I will bring it up at the next

2:47:14hearing um which I'm sure we're going to

2:47:15have. uh and uh try to get um you know a

2:47:19little bit more uh on on that front. But

2:47:22uh like the students had recommended a

2:47:24school safety plan um and I know that

2:47:26there are school safety plans for

2:47:28several situations. Do we have school

2:47:29safety plans for the situation? Uh and

2:47:33and to make it clear that that's um

2:47:35that's really important. So, uh, you

2:47:37know, again, we're we didn't want to be

2:47:39in this space of having to put all of

2:47:42these, uh, efforts and resources in, uh,

2:47:44but we're all here working together to

2:47:46put all of these efforts and resources

2:47:48in because, uh, our all families, uh,

2:47:51and, uh, our families that are, u

2:47:54feeling the fear, um, need to know that

2:47:57we're we're here for them. So, um, I

2:47:59appreciate everybody coming and thank

2:48:00you, Mr. Chair, for this hearing.

2:48:02>> Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. Thank you,

2:48:03everybody. The committee will stand in

2:48:05recess.