Councilmembers call for independent investigation into MCPS' handling of school principal accused of repeated sexual harassment

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County Councilmembers Evan Glass and Dawn Luedtke released a letter Tuesday, calling on an independent investigation into Montgomery County Public Schools' handling of a school principal accused of repeated sexual harassment over the course of years.

Glass took to social media to express that he and Luedtke believe the Maryland Inspector General for Education and the Montgomery County Inspector General should step in to conduct a thorough investigation into how MCPS looked into the case againstPaint Branch High School Principal Joel Beidleman.

In a letter addressed to theMaryland Inspector General for Education and the Montgomery County Inspector General, Glass and Luedtke stated that the allegations made against the principal's alleged behavior were "disturbing." And following several complaints made by teachers and parents to MCPS, the principal was still promoted within the school system.

This comes after a report from The Washington Postdetailed brazen and public incidents of sexual harassment. The accusations of lewd statements directed at a teacher in front of others and inappropriate advances were captured in text and phone records dating back to Beidleman’s time at William Farquhar Middle School.

MCPS released a statement in response to the allegations, saying in part, “We have identified an external and independent investigation team with expertise in education and employment law to promptly investigate allegations that were raised in The Washington Post’s investigation.”

The team is tasked with examining the district’s system in documenting, reporting and investigating these serious allegations.

7News also reached out to The Washington Post and they said Beidleman denied many of the allegations in their report.

MCPS has since hired the Jackson Lewis P.C. law firm to conduct the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Beidleman, according to the Washington Post.

7News spoke to some parents with theParents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland who accused the school system of a conflict of interestfollowing the hiring of the Baltimore-based law firm.

The school system announced on Tuesday that two investigations are underway. The first is looking into potential failures by MCPS in connection to Beidleman's promotion and the board expects to receive a report on this by Sept 8. Investigators are also looking into Title IX investigation into potential violations.

"We the board want to assure our staff, students and families, and the community that we will determine what happened and there will be accountability for any failures either systemic or individual that are identified," said an MCPS board member.

You can read the entire WJLA article here.