HCPSS MPIA Request #2023-008

Requestor
William Holland
Requested Information
On 8/2/2022 Principal Cindy Dillon of Centennial High School issued a notice that all students would be participating in a "year-long study on race, diversity, and inclusion. We will be using a program called ‘Race to be Human’." I hereby request the following information in regard to that class:
1.) All materials, lessons, curriculum, guidelines and instructions that will be used in Centennials year long program, including all of the information HCPSS has received or distributed in regard to 'Race to be Human'
2.) Any correspondance and communication, including but not limited to emails between any Race to be Human vendors or representatives and any HCPSS employee, regarding this class or the Race to be Human program.
3.) Any correspondance and communication, including but not limited to emails between and HCPSS employees regarding the program mentioned by Ms. Dillon and the Race to be Human program material.
4.) Any lesson plans, directions, memos or directives provided by Ms. Dillon to any Centennial HS staff member.
5.) A list of all the HCPSS employees who have reviewed and approved this material.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes

Responsive to this request, in addition to the materials provided below, a link to Race to Be Human materials as being utilized by the school - which will be made available to parents and students at the start of the school year - as well as correspondence between Centennial and other HCPSS employees regarding this program which contain the link, can be made available for review via email. Please note, as this link was developed for the specific use of the Centennial school community, with copyright belonging to the company used by the school, issuance of this response does not convey permission to use/distribute these materials for other purposes.

Correspondence between Centennial and other HCPSS employees regarding this program includes directives, guidelines, and instructions provided by Ms. Dillon to Centennial staff members. Under MPIA GP § 4-338, which requires a custodian to deny inspection of information about the security of an information system, we have redacted unique identifiers such as login and password information. An additional redaction contained within these records is for non-responsive content unrelated to the transaction of HCPSS business such as personal matters/scheduling issues shared.

Please note, for all materials, further review would be needed to determine releasability of all attachments, links and/or external records noted within the responsive email content itself.

Although no record listing the names of all HCPSS employees who have reviewed this material exists, names of such staff can be found throughout the available records. Please note, these records are as collected by the school following receipt of this MPIA request in early August. As the start of the school year approaches, additional materials are being developed for the launch and use of the program. Additionally, as a social-emotional learning program, the school has aligned its use with HCPSS Policy 1000 – Civility, HCPSS Policy 1040 – Safe and Supportive Schools, and HCPSS Policy 1080 – Educational Equity.

Responsive Documents
MPIA 2023-008 Planning Materials.zip
This includes Centennial’s 2022-2023 School Improvement Plan documenting the planned use of Race to Be Human and a template created for planning. Please note, further review would be needed to determine releasability of internal links.
MPIA 2023-008 Meeting Minutes.zip
Meeting minutes where Race to Be Human was discussed by Centennial staff. Under MPIA GP § 4-338, which requires a custodian to deny inspection of information about the security of an information system, we have redacted unique identifiers such as login and password information. Remaining redactions within the ITL July 27, 2022, document are for content/topics unrelated to this MPIA request. Please note, further review would be needed to determine releasability of internal links.
MPIA 2023-008 Correspondance wVendor.zip
Under MPIA GP § 4-338, which requires a custodian to deny inspection of information about the security of an information system, we have redacted unique identifiers such as login and password information. Under MPIA GP § 4-335, which prevents disclosure of confidential commercial or financial information furnished by an outside unit, we have redacted information throughout that would allow access to proprietary materials and have the potential to cause harm to the competitive position of the vendor from whom the information was obtained. Under this same exemption, we have withheld one record received by the school constituting the company’s taxpayer information used for payment purposes. Please note, further review would be needed to determine releasability of all attachments, links and/or external records noted within the responsive email content itself.

*Some request language is summarized to include the requester's specific document requests and legally protected information (such as personally identifiable information of a student) or personal, defamatory and malicious content removed at the discretion of the school system.

**Responses containing legally protected information available only to the person of interest are omitted from the above report.

***Howard County Public Schools reserves the right to remove erroneous or outdated documents from this site.