[WIP] Fix failing GitHub Actions job 'Checkout and Build (3.11)'

[Copilot]

• Inspect the failing GitHub Actions run and identify the exact failing step from the logs
• Inspect the affected workflow and source files to confirm the root cause
• Make the smallest source change to remove the Python 3.11 flake8 failure
• Add focused regression coverage for the changed initialization path if practical within existing tests
• Run targeted validation for lint and tests
• Scan changed files for secrets and run final PR validation