School Systems - Reportable Offenses - Alterations

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
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HOUSE BILL 123
F1, E2 6lr1266
(PRE–FILED)
By: Delegate Griffith
Requested: October 21, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Ways and Means and Judiciary

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

School Systems – Reportable Offenses – Alterations 2

FOR the purpose of including institutions and programs of higher education in which a 3
student is enrolled as part of a dual enrollment program in the definition of “school 4
system”; adding certain offenses to the list of offenses a law enforcement agency must 5
report to certain school personnel under certain circumstances; authorizing State’s 6
Attorneys to make a certain notification if a student is arrested for certain offenses; 7
and generally relating to reportable offenses in school systems. 8

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 9
Article – Education 10
Section 7–303 11
Annotated Code of Maryland 12
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 13

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 14
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 15

Article – Education 16

7–303. 17

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 18

(2) “Criminal organization” has the meaning stated in § 9 –801 of the 19
Criminal Law Article. 20

(3) “Law enforcement agency” means the law enforcement agencies listed 21
in [§ 3–101(e)] § 1–101(C) of the Public Safety Article. 22
2 HOUSE BILL 123

[(4) “Local school system” means the schools and school programs under the 1
supervision of the local superintendent.] 2

[(5)] (4) “Local superintendent” means: 3

(i) The county superintendent, for the county in which a student is 4
enrolled, or a designee of the superintendent, who is an administrator; or 5

(ii) The superintendent of schools for the: 6

1. Archdiocese of Baltimore; 7

2. Archdiocese of Washington; and 8

3. Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. 9

[(6)] (5) “Reportable offense” means an offense that: 10

(i) Occurred off school premises; 11

(ii) Did not occur at an event sponsored by the school; and 12

(iii) Involved any of the following: 13

1. A crime of violence, as defined in § 14–101 of the Criminal 14
Law Article; 15

2. Any of the offenses enumerated in § 3 –8A–03(d)(4) of the 16
Courts Article; 17

3. A violation of § 4–101, § 4–102, § 4–203, or § 4–204 of the 18
Criminal Law Article; 19

4. A violation of § 5–602, § 5–603, § 5–604, § 5–605, § 5–606, 20
§ 5–607, § 5–608, § 5–608.1, § 5–609, § 5–612, § 5–613, § 5–614, § 5–617, § 5–618, § 5–627, 21
or § 5–628 of the Criminal Law Article; 22

5. A violation of § 4–503, § 9–504, or § 9–505 of the Criminal 23
Law Article; 24

6. A violation of § 6–102, § 6–103, § 6–104, or § 6–105 of the 25
Criminal Law Article; 26

7. A violation of § 9 –802 or § 9 –803 of the Criminal Law 27
Article; 28

HOUSE BILL 123 3

8. A violation of § 3–203 of the Criminal Law Article; 1

9. A violation of § 6–301 of the Criminal Law Article; 2

10. A violation of § 9–302, § 9–303, or § 9–305 of the Criminal 3
Law Article; 4

11. A violation of § 7–105 of the Criminal Law Article; 5

12. A violation of § 6–202 of the Criminal Law Article; [or] 6

13. A violation of § 10–606 of the Criminal Law Article; 7

14. A VIOLATION OF § 3–308 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 8
ARTICLE; 9

15. A VIOLATION OF § 11–207 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 10
ARTICLE, IF THE VICTIM DOES N OT HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF OR DOES NOT CONSENT 11
TO THE PRODUCTION OR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY; 12

16. A VIOLATION OF § 3–902 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 13
ARTICLE; 14

17. A VIOLATION OF § 3–1001 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 15
ARTICLE; 16

18. A VIOLATION OF § 3–802 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 17
ARTICLE; 18

19. A VIOLATION OF § 3–809 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 19
ARTICLE; OR 20

20. ANY OTHER ACT THAT IF COMMITTED BY AN ADUL T 21
WOULD BE A FELONY. 22

[(7)] (6) “School principal” means the principal of the public or nonpublic 23
school in which a student is enrolled, or a designee of the principal, who is an administrator. 24

[(8)] (7) (i) “School security officer” includes a school principal, 25
another school administrator, a law enforcement officer, or other individual employed by a 26
[local] school system or a local government who is designated by the county superintendent 27
or a school principal to help maintain the security and safety of a school. 28

(ii) “School security officer” does not include a teacher. 29

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(8) “SCHOOL SYSTEM” MEANS: 1

(I) THE SCHOOLS AND SCHOO L PROGRAMS UNDER THE 2
SUPERVISION OF THE LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT; AND 3

(II) THE INSTITUTION OF HI GHER EDUCATION OR HI GHER 4
EDUCATION PROGRAM IN WHICH A STUDENT IS ENROLLE D AS PART OF A DUAL 5
ENROLLMENT PROGRAM. 6

(9) “Student” means an individual enrolled in a public school system or 7
nonpublic school in the State who is 5 years of age or older and under 22 years of age. 8

(b) (1) If a student is arreste d for a reportable offense or an offense that is 9
related to the student’s membership in a criminal organization, the law enforcement agency 10
making the arrest: 11

[(1)] (I) Shall notify the following individuals of the arrest and the 12
charges within 24 hours of the arrest or as soon as practicable: 13

[(i)] 1. The local superintendent; 14

[(ii)] 2. The school principal; and 15

[(iii)] 3. For a school that has a school security officer, the school 16
security officer; and 17

[(2)] (II) May notify the State’s Attorney of the arrest and charges. 18

(2) IF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY DETERMINES T HAT NOTIFICATION 19
WAS NOT MADE BY A LA W ENFORCEMENT AGENCY UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS 20
SUBSECTION, THE STATE’S ATTORNEY MAY PROVIDE THE NOTIFICATION. 21

(c) The State’s Attorney shall promptly notify either the local superintendent or 22
the school principal of the disposition of the reportable offense required to be reported under 23
subsection (b) of this section. 24

(d) Except by order of a juvenile court or other court upon good cause shown, the 25
information obtained by an individual pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section: 26

(1) Is confidential and may not be redisclosed by subpoena or otherwise 27
except as provided pursuant to subsections (e) and (f) of this section; and 28

(2) May not be made part of the student’s permanent educational record. 29

HOUSE BILL 123 5

(e) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, nothing 1
shall prohibit a local superintendent or school principal from transmitting the information 2
obtained pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section as a confidential file to the local 3
superintendent of another public school system in the State or another nonpublic school in 4
the State in which the student has enrolled or been transferred in order to carry out the 5
purposes of this section if the disposition of the reportable offense was a conviction or an 6
adjudication of delinquency or the criminal charge or delinquency petition is still pending. 7

(2) A local superintendent or school principal who transmits information 8
about a student under this subsection shall include in the transmittal information 9
regarding any educational programming and related services provided to the student. 10

(f) The State Board shall adopt regulations to ensure that infor mation obtained 11
by a local superintendent, a school principal, or a school security officer under subsections 12
(b), (c), and (e) of this section is: 13

(1) Used to provide appropriate educational programming and related 14
services to the student and to maintain a safe and secure school environment for students 15
and school personnel; 16

(2) Transmitted only to school personnel of the school in which the student 17
is enrolled as necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in item (1) of this subsection; 18
and 19

(3) Destroyed when the student graduates or otherwise permanently 20
leaves school or turns 22 years old, whichever occurs first. 21

(g) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the 22
local superintendent and the school principal shall consider prohibiting a student who is 23
arrested for a reportable offense involving rape or a sexual offense from attending the same 24
school or riding on the same school bus as the alleged victim of the reportable offense if 25
such action is necessary or appropriate to protect the physical or psychological well –being 26
of the alleged victim. 27

(2) If a student is arrested for a reportable offense involving rape or a 28
sexual offense and is convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for the rape or sexual offense, 29
the student may not attend the same school or ride on the same school bus as the victim. 30

(h) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the manner in which a local school 31
obtains information or uses information obtained by any lawful means other than that set 32
forth in subsections (b), (c), and (e) of this section. 33

(i) Each public school that enrolls students in grades six through twelve in the 34
State shall designate at least one school security officer. 35

(j) (1) On or before December 30 each year, the Department, in accordance 36
with State and federal privacy laws, shall submit to the Governor and, in accordance with 37
6 HOUSE BILL 123

§ 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly a report that includes the 1
following information about each reportable offense for which a local school received 2
information under subsection (b) of this section in the preceding school year: 3

(i) The nature of the reportable offense; 4

(ii) Verification that the offense occurred off school premises; 5

(iii) Action taken by the local school and county board after being 6
notified of the reportable offense; 7

(iv) The race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status of the student 8
arrested for the reportable offense; 9

(v) The grade of the student arrested for the reportable offense; 10

(vi) The regular school program OR APPLICABLE DUAL 11
ENROLLMENT PROGRAM of the student arrested for the reportable offense; 12

(vii) Whether the student’s regular school program OR APPLICABLE 13
DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM was altered as a result of the reportable offense; 14

(viii) If the student was removed from the student’s regular school 15
program OR APPLICABLE DUAL E NROLLMENT PROGRAM as a result of the reportable 16
offense: 17

1. The amount of time during whi ch the student was 18
removed; and 19

2. The student’s placement and educational programming 20
during the period of removal; and 21

(ix) If removed from the student’s regular school program OR 22
APPLICABLE DUAL ENRO LLMENT PROGRAM , the student’s academic perfor mance 23
during the time period the student was removed, including attendance, grades, and 24
standardized test scores, and any additional disciplinary actions. 25

(2) Each county board and public school shall provide the Department with 26
any information necessary to issue its report in accordance with this section. 27

(k) If a student is removed or excluded from the student’s regular school program 28
OR APPLICABLE DUAL E NROLLMENT PROGRAM for a reportable offense, the principal 29
or county superintendent shall invite the student’s attorney, if the student has an attorney, 30
to participate in the conference between the student or the student’s parent or guardian 31
and the principal or county superintendent, and the manifestation determination review, 32
if applicable. 33
HOUSE BILL 123 7

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 1
1, 2026. 2