Under the MPIA process, and as advised in the Fourteenth Edition of the Maryland Public Information Act Manual created by Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General, an agency is only obligated to produce existing records and is not required to generate new data or summarize data. Information within HCPSS records regarding accelerated grade placements is specific to each student and not found within existing data/reports, thus would require access to and review of individual private student files, which are exempt from disclosure under both the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which restricts access to student records, and MPIA GP § 4-313, which prevents disclosure of school district records pertaining to individual students.
Requestor
Dr. Keri M. Guilbault
Organization/Agency
Johns Hopkins University
Requested Information
I would like to request a copy of your district academic acceleration policy (if one exists) and acceleration procedures that guide school principals' decisions for advanced learners in grades K-5. This includes early entrance to K or 1, grade skipping, subject acceleration, and other forms of academic acceleration as defined by HCPSS. I would also like information (if collected) on the total number of students who were provided acceleration in the form of (1) early entrance to kindergarten, (2) early entrance to grade 1, (3) subject acceleration in reading, (4) subject acceleration in mathematics, (5) grade skipped (one year), or (6) radical acceleration (2 or more years) during the 2019-2020 academic year, with student demographic data (sex, age at time of acceleration, race, ethnicity, FARMS status, ELL status, and special education status- IEP/504). Thank you for your assistance.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes
Responsive Documents
This policy outlines the specific allowances for early admission to kindergarten (IV.C.4).
The implementation procedures for Policy 9000 include early kindergarten assessment procedures (IV.D.).
This policy addresses accelerated grade placement (IV.D.3).
This overview includes specific grade level options through the gifted and talented program, which offer accelerated curriculum options.
HCPSS has made substantial efforts to ensure the accuracy of this information; however, data collection and reporting is consistently subject to change. Please be mindful when comparing data as many variances can occur between reports based on date pulled, parameters used, categories included, etc.