From the Harford County Sheriff’s Office:
[February 12, 2013, Pylesville, MD] — Maryland State Police Detectives from the State Police Barrack in Bel Air and assigned to the Harford County Child Advocacy Center (HCCAC), have arrested and charged a Harford County school system employee with having sex with a 15 year old student.
Amanda Kay Miller, 35, from Whiteford, Maryland, is charged with Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Third Degree Sex Offense, and two counts of Fourth Degree Sex Offense. Miller is reported to be an inclusion helper at the North Harford High School. An inclusion helper supports the classroom teacher by providing support to students during instruction, prepares instructional materials for students under the direction of the teacher, and charts data on student progress.
On February 8, 2013, the HCCAC received a referral of child sexual abuse. Police interviewed the 15 year old male victim who told investigators he and Miller had had sexual relations. The victim knew Miller was an inclusion teacher at the North Harford High School. Both he and Miller had been communicating with each other outside of school since December 2012 and that Miller had engaged in sexual intercourse with him. He also stated that she has taken him home from school on occasion and has purchased cigarettes for him.
Police arrested Miller taking her into custody at the North Harford High School on February 11, 2013. She was booked into the Harford County Detention Center where she was later released after posting a $50,000 bond.
The Harford County Child Advocacy Center is a multi-disciplinary investigative task force which has been operational since August of 1993. The mission of the Harford County Child Advocacy Center (HCCAC) is to investigate allegations of child maltreatment while providing services and resources for the abused child and his/her family. The Task Force is comprised of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Bel Air, Aberdeen and Havre de Grace Police Departments, the Harford County Office of the State’s Attorney, Harford County Department of Social Services – Child Protective Services, and Family and Children Services of Central Maryland.
An “inclusion helper”? Another great example of waste in the school system.
This HCPS employee is accused of sexually abusing a minor…you should be more concerned about that than whether or not her position is a waste of money.
Inclusion helpers assist children with special needs be successful in the classroom setting. I would hardly call that a waste of money.
A federally mandated job. Such as the seeing person who haelps the blind student around.
No such thing. The federal government cannot constitutionally mandate that a state provide certain jobs. They can say they can but no, they can’t. Read the Tenth Amendment.
But they can mandate certian services are provided to disabled children, which they do via IDEA. Additionally our state Constitution mandates a free appropriate education for all students.
no the federal government can’t .but the state government can.
Than explain the paradox of IDEA?
I gotta tell you Pavel, inclusion helpers ARE NOT a waste of time. If you were able, which you most likely aren’t due to regulations, able to spend some time in a classroom with 20+ unbehaved, uncaring, students, you’d see that one teacher is unable to accommodate the whole class. The inclusion helper(s) assist the teacher by working with troubled students, taking troubled students out of the classroom, etc.. In a perfect world yes, it would be wonderful to have a classroom with just one teacher and 23 well behaved students who are eager to learn. That’s just not the case today. Many instances show parents just want someone else to discipline and raise their kids. I’m not suggesting that with regard to this article. Who knows what the heck happened between this 35 year old woman and 15 year old teenager. The Dagger will keep us informed though…..
I’;; bet you wouldn’t say that if you had a child with special needs. You’d probably be the one screaming the loudest for more and more help for such a child. Or maybe in your mind we should go back to hiding kids with disabilities. The job is hard and it doesn’t pay much by the way.
You “got” that correct Pavel314! Eliminate the position and the problem goes away (AND, the taxpayers will save a LOT of money to boot!
I can’t believe people think the job of an inclusion helper is not necessary and a waste of time and money. I recently retired after 27 years of teaching (classroom and media center.) An inclusion helper is invaluable. The inclusion helpers I have worked with (at Willam Paca-Old Post Road and Riverside) have earned their money over and over. Some of these adults help with special needs children and some have been assigned to help children with behavior problems. Without the help of these adults the education of the other children in the class would suffer,
Thanks to our NHHS Principal, Mr. Ed Herbold, who has of course in his normal fashion and administrative way, has failed to notify the parents of anything going on at the HS. And how do we find out — through our kids and through facebook. Just like a week or two ago, when a parent made a threat against the school, the kids get texts/emails and have to tell their parents; and when we ‘think’ that its just teenagers being dramatic, we arrive at the school the next day only to find multiple HCSO cars and that the rumor is indeed true. He was considerate enough to provide us a notification call about 24 hours late!! And here we are again. He’s inefficient and inept as a Principal, thats for sure.
She was arrested yesterday……MAybe letter coming home today?
Basically the principal is told how to handle these situations. If he was instructed by HCPS and/or investigators not to notify parents until today that is what he has to do.
Your frustration is misguided, contact the central office and I’m sure they can explain the policy to you.
My guess is a letter was sent home today or a call will be made this evening.
This is a personnel issue that is under active investigation by both Harford County Public Schools and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. I understand the frustration of not being informed immediately, however you need to consider that the school is not the only one controlling this issue. There is very sensitive information involved in this investigation and if you are concerned if your child could have been impacted by this, the easiest way to find out would be to simply ask him or her.
are you smoking crack. A personnel issue doesn’t involve the children of a school. A personnel issue is using your sick leave when you are not sick. I love all this private stuff because of privacy problems. This is what the catholic church did and look what happened. Some children were scared to tell and gotta love rights. This person is an “alleged” pervert.
Parent / think,
You both have good points. Whether or not it is an “active investigation” is beside the point. Parents deserve to be notified ASAP of any issue within the school, of which their children MAY have been impacted.
Not sure about the statements regarding privacy. If this was so sensitive and private, then why the hell did they post her picture here for everyone to see? The school system, and the Dagger, better pray to God she confessed or is found guilty. Can you imagine the lawsuit that will ensue for not protecting “her rights” during this ordeal?
Before you get all hoppy on me, I am totally against this – just offering a different viewpoint.
Once she was arrested and processed it is public information – there won’t be a law suit because it was posted on the Dagger or anywhere else.
She can still sue, this is America. For you to say that there won’t be one is a bit shortsighted.
Sorry but it don’t work that way. She is a public employee payed by tax payer funds therefore if she is arrested it is public domain information. Same as if your mayor or police chief were arrested. That is why so much investigation is conducted before an arrest.
Think about this tho, say it was u that was accused. Wouldnt you want the proper officials to investigate the report until it has been confirmed? They have to investigate in order to make sure it was correct. Then make the arrest, then notify the individuals involved, then notify the public?
Read the charging statement. SHA ADMITTED IT
Parent, You are absolutely right! A personnel issue does not pertain to issues involving students, however HCPS would like to keep it that way. They put a gag order on staff and bus drivers when I walked into John Archer School to find him restrained face down, head pushed back and his arms on his back with 3 straps holding him down. Want to know what he did? He sat down! That’s it. All of it was completely illegal, but Mr. Cassily decided he “couldn’t prove intent to harm.” Apparently there is a double standard, one for parents and caregivers and one for school employees. Our government, not just Harford Co. follows this double standard and every day school personnel get away with physical abuse of special needs children, just like in our case. That’s why I started a petition on change.org to bring awareness to this serious problem. Here’s the link, it will show other cases where the same thing happens: http://www.change.org/petitions/harford-county-state-s-attorney-s-office-and-state-of-maryland-protect-autistic-children-from-schools-that-violate-md-restraint-law?utm_campaign=petition_created&utm_medium=email&utm_source=guides
I have seen the effects of abuse, with our own son. Thank you HCPS.
BTW being charged with a crime is public information. Just look at the picture above. This ain’t no prom pic. The only privacy is with the child. So make sure you defend this fine upstanding person who just happens to be in the same room with our children and are not able to vote yet. If he was 56, bald and smoked and looked weird…..you wouldn’t be talking about his personnel issues.
This is false information but I appreciate the fact that you continue to make assumptions with your comments. I am not, by any means, defending this individual. I was simply commenting on why a call was not made to parents. This situation is absolutely awful and sickening. The principal may have been advised not to make the call by not only officials in Harford County Public Schools but also the Sheriff’s Office. I completely understand the frustration as a parent. I apologize if my comment came through as insensitive.
Just a message to inform the uniformed North Harford Parent…once the police and states attorney take over you do what they say, it is no longer a school issue. If you think an alert needs to go out thats fine but highly unwarranted during what is still an ongoing investigation. try talking about something or someone you know something about. If you ever have a question call the communications office at cnetral office, let me say it slower….. the communications office
At least she has experience in cigarette trading, it should help her in prison.
Our principal is an amazing person and handles every situation with the outmost respect and in a orderly manor please don’t look down on him until you have done his job
Dear Student,
Perhaps he is a good person, however he is doing a disservice to you, and other students, as an educator. Simply put, your grammar is horrific, along with your spelling.
If you truly want to make a valid point, that people will consider and offer thoughful, educated replies to, then please stop making yourself appear as if you are an uneducated flob. There are enough of those out there already.
Grammar really he’s not teaching us Therefore our spelling and grammar in corrections are not on his behalf And you can thank harford County public schools for my incorrections by not giving us the right or the strongest curriculum we could have
Ed? Is that you?
Since the “pervert” is a female, she probably will be getting home detention or local jail time. She is not six feet tall and needs a shave and looks threatening. Oh and she doesn’t live in Edgewood.
I’m sure the judge & jury will take her hometown into account…
BTW – you may want to look up previous cases regarding females who have sex with students. You’ll likely be surprised.
Oh, and check out the Adam Sandler movie “That’s my boy”. Even the movies portray it that way…
i believe you might be mistaking ‘personnel’ with ‘personal’ there, parent.
big difference.
What is interesting about this situation is that because she is a woman, she will get off with a light sentence. Now if it was a man and even if the girl was 17 (which is the age of consent in MD), they would throw the book at him and put him in jail for life. Just b.s. I’ll never understand all of this anyway. Seriously lady, you can find a male over 21 to have sex with in Harford County! Look around.
She’s facing 37 years if convicted on all charges…that doesn’t sound like a light sentence to me.
And to Parent: In addition to previous comments stating this is out of the school’s hands and not something that warrants an all call…if this was something that MAY have impacted your child-ask your kid. If your child was involved you would have been notified! The rest of the teachers and staff were not even told who was involved or what the incident was. We got the same blanket statement about an “ongoing investigation regarding inappropriate conduct” and found out the details through the press and word of mouth just like you. Stop pointing fingers at our administrators, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
She is not facing 37 years, what planet do you live on. Do you not pay attention to what these women get in this country…NOTHING! There is such a double standard with all of this. I would be shocked if she gets more than 3 years in jail. A guy would be locked up forever.
WJZ-TV reported on the evening news that, if sentenced, she COULD receive 37 years in prison.
Yes and we always believe everything they tell us on T.V. right???
Right, what kind of sentence she “faces” and what kind of sentence she gets are totally different things.
Under section 3-602 of Maryland Criminal Code, the first charge (Sexual Abuse of a Minor) has a maximum sentence of 25 years. The Third Degree Sex Offense Charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years (sect. 3-307) and each of the Fourth Degree counts carries a one-year maximum sentence (sect. 3-308.) That’s your 37 years.
But that “total” number is just something that TV likes to throw out because its sounds impressive. It’s one thing to say what the individual maximums are, but it’s a little disingenuous–and legally irrelevant–to say she “faces” a certain amount of time. In cases with multiple charges, we all know it’s pretty rare that someone gets the maximum on every count they’re charged with.
Agreed. Also, if it’s her first offense, and she was really only involved with him for a couple of months, is 37 years really a suitable punishment? It’s basically a life sentence.
She should be put away – and I’m sure she will be – but 3 – 5 years seems more reasonable given the information we currently have.
Now, if she’s done it before, or if they find out that she has child-porn – well then a harsher sentence makes more sense.
wowowow121: I think TV was correct. Miller is charged with Sexual Abuse of a Minor, third-degree sex offense, and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense. Under state law, the maximum penalty for each is 25 years in prison, 10 years in prison, and one year in prison each, respectively. That’s 37 years, right??? They didn’t say that’s what she WOULD get, they said that’s what she COULD get.
Ummmmm did i point fingers at the administration. Think before you write. This is a personnel issue and not a personal issue. I think adults who abuse a child are disgusting and need to be thrown in jail for a long time! I dealt with abused children and the aftermath is horrible. The abuser gets a slap on the wrist and then they say that we can’t talk about it. Just look at Maryland Judicial Case Search and you can call and get the information on what the person is charged with. That is not covered by secrecy. Oh and Gah do me a favor and stop thinking you are in the know. Until you look into a childs eyes and see the hurt.
Parent:
First of all, calling our principal “inept” is pointing fingers. Your entire first post was derogatory towards him and you called him out by name.
Secondly, I work at the school so I will consider myself “in the know” even though I have no idea what your point is in even saying that since my comment had absolutely NOTHING to do with the actual incident that occured but rather your ill placed anger at not being as informed as you would like to be. My point was and still is, if it was an incident that directly affected/involved your child, you would have been informed.
Wow, since you are so prescient, can you give the powerball numbers for this week? Oh, and just to remind people – in the United States we are innocent until we are proven guilty. That’s still true.
Well actually she has a Husband and if you need to start saying anything you can take it to her and not put it on the Internet were you can hide behind a computer thank you
Dear how’s_that_change,
Your comments make you sound like an a**hole. Perhaps you are an a**hole, in which case, you should consider not responding. Simply put, when you put others down in an effort to prove a point, the only point you prove is that you are an angry, insensitive person. Keep your comments relevant to the topic. If you want to berate kids for improper grammar, stick to YouTube.
Dear Tool,
Appreciate the fact that you took time out of your day to “stay on topic”. Perhaps a little more of correcting is what kids need these days, instead of just getting them through the system where they eventually wind up far behind peers who are corrected when a blatant mistake is made
I did not put down the person, merely the grammar. Case in point, captalizing names!
Thank You for sticking up for me it makes me happy to know that there are people in the world these days That will stand up for someone else
Pavel314: what do you do for a living? Have you made a difference in the life of a child today? Have you taught a nonverbal child to speak? Have you fed a child via feeding tube? Have you included a special needs child in a classroom setting for their very first timetime? I have. I am an inclusion helper and proud of it! Do you know the salary if an inclusion helper in Harford County? $14,000.00 (and change) per year. I am not complaining. I make a difference every day. I love my job.
What is it with these hottie teachers messin with students! Here I thought “Hot for Teacher” was just a Van Halen song! How hard can it be for her to find a willing guy that she has to mess with a kid?
Seriously? What part of PEDOPHILE are you all not getting? She didn’t look for a “willing guy” because didn’t want one. She wanted to have sex with a boy. She admitted the relationship in the charging documents and there is evidence to back this up.
Pardon my ignorance, but how does one view these charging documents?
This is what was stated on wbal: “Charging documents obtained by WBAL Radio state that the victim and Miller had been exchanging text messages and phone calls. Some of those text messages included nude pictures of each other according to what Miller told police in court records.”
Thanks for the follow up. Very disturbing, to say the least.
The part where pedophiles are attracted to persons pre-puberty. At 15 I give it even odds he’s included in that group.
Pedophiles are people with desires, sometimes ones they don’t even want but are burned in there. Those people aren’t the problems – child molesters are. Thoughts vs actions. Pedophiles need help, child molesters need jail.
The last case we just had where an adult female was hooking up with her son’s juvenile best friend was just given time served. There is definitely a double standard and we should not expect to see anything more than the bare minimum of sentences in this case either. She was even ordered to stay away from the kid and violated that order immediately after bailing out, still given a time served disposition with only a few days having been served.
You are 100% correct, she may get a few years in jail and that will be it. Now if it was a male having sex with a girl, even one that meets the age of consent, say 17, that guy would get life. It is ridiculous! Why are women any different?
If Harford County Government would fully fund our schools, we could get the best teachers and aides available. Not the pedophiles and lackeys we get now. It is the county executive and the county councils fault for allowing our pay to get so low that we need to work 2 and 3 jobs. We can’t even enjoy our summer time off with our families and friends because we need to work summer jobs to afford our car payments and bills. Thank God we have Sheriff Jessie Bane in this county. If it was not for him pedophiles would still be walking the halls of our schools. The gun-toting gay-bashing pay off the rich republicans are destroying this county. They are forcing the school board to take action and even close schools. But only schools in poor areas. How will they answer for all the poor kids that will be coming to their rich area schools after they force the poorer schools to close so teachers can get paid? Wake up Harford County, stop blaming the state of Maryland and Governor Martin O’Malley for the problems you have caused by electing republicans to run this sinking ship we call Harford County.
I don’t agree with your comments. Assuming your comments are correct, just how many lackeys and pedophiles are employed? Please feel free to point them out to Sheriff Bane for further action.
Your assertion that this incident is somehow related to pay scale is ludicrous. If you really are a teacher your comments do nothing but damage our profession.
Did you come to the budget hearing with us? Are you a member of the union? No, you are just one of the freeloaders that suck off the tit of the dues paying members of our union. So since you did not come out, take some time and read the story about how our members are fighting for your fair pay. Nonunion teachers do nothing, and damage our profession. It is all about the money and you know it. Get over yourself.
Get over yourself, PTPUM. It’s well documented that teachers unions are in it only for the money, as your post makes abundantly clear. In reading down the list this far I have no idea how the union even entered into the discussion; your injection of union politics into a thoroughly disgusting situation adds nothing to the topic at hand. Please save your gangbanging for one of Mr. Burbey’s periodic rants.
So, all of you folks who are in the teaching proferssion, and especially Mr. Burbey, when you lobby for more money for teachers, it is people like Proud Teacher Proud Union Member who immediately come to my mind. Just one of the many reasons we are indifferent to what you have to say. Other reasons include but are surely not limited to the waste that is rampant and the excessive overhead. Need more reasons? Start with Susan Darden and Mr. Hickey.
This is a discussion about a pedophile operating in a Harford county school. Your implication is that because you don’t get paid enough all the “normal” teachers allowed it to happen. Because that is the only way school funding or teacher pay could have ANY effect on whether or not there is a pedophile successfully preying on children in the school is if all the good teachers watch it happen…otherwise pay rates and party affiliation have NOTHING to do with it.
My experience with the teachers is that they are not that callous and self serving, so why don’t you save the funding comments and public/parent/republican bashing for the appropriate boards. Because commenting on funding and politics in a discussion about a child being molested really does not help your cause.
By our Union Presidents own admission, because of the lack of county funding the best teachers are forced to leave HCPS for higher pay in other systems. So if the best teachers leave, what are we left with? Lackeys and teachers that just do not care anymore because they can not go anywhere else and do not get what they were promised by the county. You get what you pay for Harford County! I will retire in 5 years and you can bet your ass that I am out of here. So Harford County better find a way to fund our post employment benefits like they did the county employees. Who is more deserving anyway? Teachers, Thats Who!
You other teachers posting here you all know that unacceptable sexual activity has taken place in our schools for years and always will. You all have expected that one AP or gym teacher of wrong doings or how about that special custodian that no one likes to be around. We all know what teachers are doing other marred teachers don’t we? But we look the other way because we do not care anymore or are afraid of retaliation. Try to deny it, you can’t because you all know it is true. Just look at the amount of teacher that are fired each year for misconduct and we all say “Oh i expected something was going on!” 5 years and out!
Please do everyone a favor and leave now. You will not be missed.
You say that now little-one but who’s class room is it you come running to when your department head is giving you shit? Or when your weak little soul cant take the beating from your rich disrespectful shit head students anymore? Thats right, you come running to the bitter old; got 5 years left and nothing to show for it; teacher that does not give a shit no-more. I pullout my pocket so you can hold on to as I go in and stand up for you. I know you; that young, I can save the world halfwit, that is blowing the AP in his office just to get ahead. Wakeup sweet hart, one day you too will be coming home at 2:30am from the bar on a school night praying some POS administrator cancels school because a little snow is on the ground. Come visit me any time I am just down the hall at any given HCPS my pocket will be out waiting for you to hold on to.
Proud Teacher Union Member, you are a disgrace to yourself, your profession and Harford County. You are doing nothing to help teachers, and I doubt that you will.
Now this response by a puppet (anyone that is one with a group, no questions asked) is the reason taxpaying folks are mad and impatient with big education. We must learn though to differentiate between those educators that go to work each day, give it their all, and understand the precarious fiscal situation we find our selves. Versus, those, like this commentor, that appear to be the greediest, most proletariat like person in the whole wide world!
Really? This clown doesn’t sound like a teacher at all! I think the word “troll” comes to mind. Seriously, go back and read its original posting – seriously, did anyone take this seriously? I’d love to claim credit for posting it myself and boasting I got all of you to bite the bait, but I don’t have that kind of time and I’m not that good. Good grief… that troll is no more a teacher than a bale of straw is.
Your right I am not a teacher! I stopped being a teacher when our last good superintendent died and our school board stopped caring about test scores and started allowing the county executive to control us. I stopped being a teacher when it became more important for me to work other jobs just to make back what I lost in cuts. Now I just sit here in the high school by the bay the one the county executive needs to replace so he can get his name on it instead of paying us what we are worth. Its no wonder we have this type of sex issue in our schools today I bet a lot of young teachers are selling “it” on the side just to pay the bills! Hell, our last union president stole big money from the union just to get by. Oh, sorry I forgot we are not to talk about that. We need to keep the big coverup going right Burbey?
K, and he is a jackass to boot. Most teachers do not think this way or post on this site. They are busy, and I mean busy. Your point is well taken. The good teachers, of which there are many, are held back because of the lazy cynical bad teachers. All teachers aren’t the same but that is what the HCEA and idiots like Proud Teacher Union Member want. The lousy wants to live off the good, and unfortunately, the system reinforces the concept.
Proud to be a union member, are you Ryan Burbey? Your tone and philosophy sound like posts that he has made. If it is your intention to hurt the good hard working teachers in Harford County, you are doing a good job of it. Stop bashing teachers with your incessant trash. Also, show me where the best teachers are leaving. I have followed BOE meetings for years and the reports given do not substantiate that union claim.
No, I am not Pres Burbey but, I will be running for his job soon and sending him back to Aberdeen! Thanks for asking.
Old teachers like me can not leave we are trapped here until we retire or become the union president.
Why don’t you do everyone a favor and retire now? That way we can save taxpayers 5 more years of paying your dumbass self entitled elitism complex. Loser.
No, you can have whats left of my 5 years. I do enjoy knowing that when I do retire your tax money will be paying me for the rest of my life. I may run for office like Slutsky or Craig and retire again to get more of your tax money. This is how it really works. Pay me babysitter wages and you only get me as a babysitter.
Hey asshole, you pay taxes too. Did you forget about that?
Wow. Is this an an example of the kind of “quality” the union is speaking of?
Actually we don’t even want you as a babysitter. Would you be interested in trash collector?
Money has nothing to do with this period. A child was molested, it has nothing to do with politics etc. I cant believe that your a teacher. A pedophile is a pedophile reguardless of how much they make.
Your should be “you’re”…. regaurdless should be “regardless”. The cool thing about this column is there is a visual cue when you spell something wrong. Unless you are just ignorant.
I’m so sorry you can’t enjoy your summer off. Some of us do not have that luxury. I am marreid to a teacher so I am in their corner , but you really aren’t going win any support with statements like that when no other profession has summers off. Of course thas is not the point. The point is an accusation has been made against a HCPS employee…Period. Everyone, students, Parents, And teachers , need to practice a littlte common sense and restraint before jumping to conclusion. Oh yea, I have a child at North Harford so I do have stake in this.
There are no “lackeys” working at my school. A “lackey” does not want to work hard or be held accountable for anything. There is 0 tolerance for people like that in my profession. Proud Teacher Proud Union: I am also a member of the union but not feeling very “proud” to share that membership with you. Have you reported such terrible people to your administration, if in fact you work with people like that?
“A “lackey” does not want to work hard or be held accountable for anything. There is 0 tolerance for people like that in my profession. ”
Magooby’s Joke House is always looking for new stand-up acts, have you sent in your resume?
So this would be the 2nd charge of sexual abuse at this school in a few years. The other one involved a man. He commited suicide. My concern is that Mr. Cassilly has no problem prosecuting a sexual abuse charge but doesn’t seem to have the ability to prosecute physical abuse that happens to special needs children. What’s wrong with this picture? The CAC does a good job getting the evidence but Mr. Cassilly’s office leaves a lot to be desired! Abuse is abuse regardless of the type.
Janice,
Let it go, no physical abuse was done . You are trying to just stir the pot again and we are done hearing about it. MOVE ON PLEASE !!!! We are all happy with our school then and more now.
@ a parent:
You say no physical abuse was done. What do you call placing a child in an illegal position? Oh, wait, I guess you think dragging a child by his legs face down through the lobby doors to the sidewalk wouldn’t be abuse either? Do your research. Special needs children are abused on a daily basis and rarely if ever are they prosecuted. Why? The unwritten rule that government entities protect their own. (This comes from an attorney at the MD General Attorney’s Office) I challenge you to do the research, I already started it for you, go to the link I put on here in response to another post and then click on the other links, you can see first hand videos of special needs children being abused in schools. If you truly are a parent at JA, you might want to be aware that even the GAO found that special needs children were 3.4 times more likely to be abused then their peers, by who? Teachers and educators: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09719t.pdf My point is this, if you knowingly commit an illegal act against a child: sexually, physically, or verbally, you should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However in most states, including MD there is a double standard for physical and verbal abuse. Parents/caregivers are prosecuted, school personnel are not.
You can thank those employees who chose to do this to my son for encouraging me to go from only advocating for him to now advocating for all special needs children, especially concerning the use of restraints and seclusion! 🙂
Does anyone screen these people. If there is a person(s) who performs background investigations on employees for the school system their work product should be examined and there procedures reviewed. This is getting out of hand
Of course all HCPS employees have federal and state background checks that include fingerprinting.
The principal at NHHS held that school together when it was being constructed around the students. He is a fine man of the highest caliber who has the highest concern for his students.
It amazes me that people who have no idea of a situation make stupid statements about people who try their best to make the best environment possible for students. These people are fools, except worse, in that they try to convince others of the correctness of their ignorance.
In response to my own post. Apparently no one does background investigations on people who we entrust our children to. A Nol Prosse in Washington County (Public Info web site) reflects a possible scenario wherein she paid for the allegedly stolen items after charges were filed.
This matter should be addressed by whomever oversees school security. Time to end the good ole boy (or girl) stuff.
And if you compare her description she is not 5’6″ tall and weighing 170 pounds.
I am glad everyone with a computer can look at JIS and learn everything there is to know about everyone. Too bad the person in Washington County isn’t even the same Amanda Miller. The birth dates don’t match on the arresting record. While I suppose you could say it could be a mistake I am going to guess that it isn’t.
Mr Pittman, as a Volunteer (Unpaid) JV Softball coach I had to submit a 4 page application along with two non family references, as well as, pay ($40) to have my finger prints submitted to the FBI. So to answer your question yes there are background investigations.
Time for Mr. Pittman to get a clue. He obviously knows little of what he speaks.
By state law all employees of HCPS have a criminal background check completed before their initial employment. A clean background check does not mean that an employee will not do something illegal or inappropriate after they become an employee. Just look at the instances where someone had a top secret military clearance and later decided to become a spy.
that means she wasnt prosecuted, she may have been innocent in that particular case
Actually you have done your research, but unfortunately came up with the wrong individual. The crime you mention was not perpetrated by the same Amanda Kay Miller as in these charges. Check your details more closely.
Legal,
What makes you so sure? Also, the point of my question is are we comfortable that the background protocol is adequate. Are the pages of documents mentioned by the JV softball coach verified, scrutinized and investigated. Completing forms without investigating is a hollow exercise that appeases the uninformed. Don’t be lulled into believing there is a staff of people reviewing the backgrounds of those entrusted with our children. Ask yourself, how could a grown adult complete such a continuiong series of acts upon a special needs child.
I don’t understand why you’re arguing with false information. Debate all you like but stop making up facts and purporting them as truths. I will point out to you that the accused is not accused of abuse of a special needs student…just a regular 15 year old student. She is/was employed in the school to aide special needs children.
All criminals at some point in their lives had clean backgrounds so the assertion that doing a background check will weed out all potential offenders is ridiculous. The respond to Ms. Proud, I’m glad that when we went five years without a raise that I chose to continue working hard as I always have rather than become a pedophile as you seem to believe is the natural reaction to low pay.
All criminals at some point in their lives had clean backgrounds so the assertion that doing a background check will weed out all potential offenders is ridiculous. To respond to Ms. Proud, I’m glad that when we went five years without a raise that I chose to continue working hard as I always have rather than become a pedophile as you seem to believe is the natural reaction to low pay.
Yes, this poor 15 y/o boy. He didn’t know that smacking uglies with a teacher was wrong. Didn’t realize that sending a school official a picture of his junk was not what upstanding, responsible members of society do! He must be thinking like a child…like poor Robby.
Well, he knew that he was not if the legal age to purchase or consume tobacco – yet he did it anyway.
This is just another problem of coddling youth. Make them just as responsible for their actions. Make it punishable for students to fraternize with school employees. Yes, she is obviously whack-job, but uppity cannot sit here and day that the young man was totally the victim here. Where were his parents? How did thru not know of this?
Sad thing is that he will be a hero in his circle for this.
Now, before all you self-righteous people start trading me off as an a-hole…remember that not everyone shares the same ethics or beliefs.
Rangers Lead The Way
I agree with you. When I was 16, I had a friend who was a life guard at a pool. He was shall we say, being entertained by a 30 year old married woman resident of the complex after the pool closed at night Funny thing is I never heard him complaining about it. He grew up to be a fine upstanding citizen.
Don’t get me wrong, the lady charged has a screw loose and is just WRONG, but the boy holds some responsibility in all of this. He had lots of options.
Would you saythe same of a 16 year old girl?
Yes, unless she was physically forced into having sex with the guy, she holds some responsibility even though the guy is a dirt bag. Sorry, I taught my kids (all honorable) to be responsible people and to take responsibility for their actions. That’s two different things. I guess that is why i never had to deal with issues like this. I didn’t baby them.
Cdev,
Yep, and have seen it. Underage girls trying to act / appear older? Never happens.
I just think that there needs to be some reason here, he was not forced, he did it willingly…he is at fault as well.
No, I am not on this ladies side.
Sorry for spelling and grammatical errors, my old fingers don’t work so well on these new fancy phones!
You try teaching a room full of special needs children all by yourself, and then talk to me about there being no need for inclusion helpers.
Teachers do it every day in other school systems, even rooms without the inclusion of regular ed students.
But, the teacher can’t stop class to change a diaper, so inclusion helpers are useful for those extreme cases.
I’ve seen IHs at work in a number of schools. I can’t think of any instance where the IH was a third wheel, a superfluous body in a classroom. Dealing with special needs kids has come a long way from my days as a first-grader with a 12-year-old in my class. No lie. That was so far back that “special ed” wasn’t even a concept. It is worth noting that one person’s moral turpitude is not an indictment of all who share that profession. Were that the case, should not all politicians have been locked up for life decades ago on guilt by association alone?
Why in the hell would a 15yr old teen boy complain and report this??? He got cigs and some of that coochi out of the deal. This is the new america folks, bunch of sissys.
I bet you he didn’t. I have thought about this myself. I have no doubt one of his jealeous friend’s said something to their mommy and tthat is how the police found out.