Disease specialist asks if MCPS has something to hide

MCPS officials are not providing data to Citizens Advisory Committee members who need information for review of the county public school health curriculum, prompting a medical expert to ask if the school system has something to hide.

Infectious disease specialist Ruth M. Jacobs, who represents Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum on the advisory committee, says MCPS is not complying with requests for health information.

"Jacobs said it has been a month since she asked to see three resources that pediatricians consulting for the school system recommended for use in developing the curriculum on sexual orientation and sexually transmitted infections," the Gazette reports on March 29.

"Why would they not want us to have the references recommended by the pediatricians?" asked Jacobs. "Is there something there they don't want us to know?"

MCPS spokesman Brian K. Edwards says the committee should be patient: "This is on the 10-step processs, step one."

Edwards is the MCPS official who first publicly attacked the personal integrity of county Inspector Thomas Dagley for the February audit on alleged MCPS wrongdoing.