MCPS releases report further detailing investigation into Joel Beidleman

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A less redacted version of a report looking into sexual harassment and bullying allegations against former Montgomery County principal Joel Beidleman is now public.

The report was released by the Montgomery County School Board Thursday afternoon less than an hour before some members of the board, MCPS leadership, and the county Inspector General presented before a joint committee hearing with the Montgomery County Council.

"While it still has a number of redactions to protect the identity of staff, the intent is to help create a fuller picture for the public of the investigation findings, while continuing to protect the privacy interest of our employees," a statement from the board said Thursday. "Today’s release aims to reassure the community that the Board of Education is committed to transparency, openness and accountability while we begin to heal our community and re-focus on the work of learning and teaching."

The report was prepared by the Jackson Lewis law firm. Beidleman, who is no longer with the district, was placed on administrative leave in August 2023 after The Washington Post reported the school system received more than a dozen complaints alleging misconduct dating back to 2016. Beidleman has denied many of the allegations.

First prepared in September and released publicly in October, the less redacted version released Thursday does not list the identities of the employees involved. Instead, it does assign employees who were involved numerically.

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"Since arriving to [redacted] in 2013, there were three complaints against Employee 25 involving sexual harassment and/or bullying behavior towards students, including (1) a July 2017 complaint that Employee 25 referred to a student as a "whore," (2) an October 2017 complaint that Employee 25 utilized an improper restraint technique on a student, and (3) complaints that Employee 25 made a reference to "hoes and thots" during a January 2018 student assembly. All of these complaints involving students were investigated and resolved by Employee 25’s supervisors," part of the less redacted report reads.

For months, watchdog groups and some county councilmembers have been calling for the release of an unredacted version.

Megan Limarzi, Montgomery County Inspector General, said there have been 90 complaints against MCPS since July 2023. There are multiple channels of reporting complaints, though Limarzi noted issues with how they are processed and documented.

"When we got started, we wanted to see just how many complaints MCPS received during that scope period. Out of the gate, we learned there was no centralized or searchable database for us to detail all of the actions with all of the complaints," she told council members Thursday.

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Also present Thursday was MCPS board president Karla Silvestre.

"We are deeply sorry for the pain that this has caused so many employees and the harm that it has done to our district. It has not always listened to its employees. It has not always properly investigated complaints, and it has not created a process that ensures its employees will feel safe to speak up," Silvestre said.

Dr. Monique Felder, who was appointed interim superintendent this week following the departure of Dr. Monifa McKnight amid the Inspector General’s second report on the investigation, was present at the meeting Thursday. Felder recognized the work ahead of her, assuring the county council a situation of this magnitude would "never happen again".