What’s happening?
Following Project Baltimore’s reports of potential truancy law violations and faulty report cards, former city prosecutor Roya Hanna is advocating for a criminal investigation into Baltimore City Schools, Chris Papst reports for Fox 45 News. Hanna is currently running for City State’s Attorney.
What did the reports find?
Project Baltimore—a Fox 45 News investigative team—focused on Qwantay Spearman and Darian Flood, students with disabilities enrolled in two different Baltimore City schools. Federal law requires both Spearman and Flood to have a private duty nurse while at school, though their schools were often not able to provide one to them this year citing a shortage. Without a nurse, Spearman and Flood missed several days of school and are considered truant, despite the schools’ failure to provide necessary resources.
Project Baltimore also found that the schools added false information to Spearman and Flood’s report cards. Spearman earned passing grades for classes he didn’t attend, and both their schools marked them present on days they were not in class.
Anything else I should know?
Baltimore City school district has a $207 million budget for special education services.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Reporting for this story was provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and we thank them for their support. However, the findings and conclusions presented in this article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.
