School Systems - Reportable Offenses - Notification of Student as Suspect

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0198*

HOUSE BILL 198
F1, E2 6lr1267
(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 – Notification of Student as Suspect 2

FOR the purpose of requiring law enforcement agencies to notify the State’s Attorney if a 3
student is a suspect in an investigation of certain offenses and if the student no 4
longer is a suspect; authorizing the State’s Attorney to notify the local 5
superintendent or the superintendent’s designee if the student is a suspect in an 6
investigation of certain offen ses; requiring the State’s Attorney to notify the local 7
superintendent or the superintendent’s designee if a student is no longer a suspect 8
in certain investigations; and generally relating to reportable offenses in school 9
systems. 10

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 11
Article – Education 12
Section 7–303 13
Annotated Code of Maryland 14
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 15

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 16
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 17

Article – Education 18

7–303. 19

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 20

(2) “Criminal organization” has the meaning stated in § 9 –801 of the 21
Criminal Law Article. 22

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(3) “Law enforcement agency” means the law enforcement agencies li sted 1
in § 1–101(c) of the Public Safety Article. 2

(4) “Local school system” means the schools and school programs under the 3
supervision of the local superintendent. 4

(5) “Local superintendent” means: 5

(i) The county superintendent, for the county in which a student is 6
enrolled, or a designee of the superintendent, who is an administrator; or 7

(ii) The superintendent of schools for the: 8

1. Archdiocese of Baltimore; 9

2. Archdiocese of Washington; and 10

3. Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. 11

(6) “Reportable offense” means an offense that: 12

(i) Occurred off school premises; 13

(ii) Did not occur at an event sponsored by the school; and 14

(iii) Involved any of the following: 15

1. A crime of violence, as defined in § 14–101 of the Criminal 16
Law Article; 17

2. Any of the offenses enumerated in § 3 –8A–03(d)(4) of the 18
Courts Article; 19

3. A violation of § 4–101, § 4–102, § 4–203, or § 4–204 of the 20
Criminal Law Article; 21

4. A violation of § 5–602, § 5–603, § 5–604, § 5–605, § 5–606, 22
§ 5–607, § 5–608, § 5–608.1, § 5–609, § 5–612, § 5–613, § 5–614, § 5–617, § 5–618, § 5–627, 23
or § 5–628 of the Criminal Law Article; 24

5. A violation of § 4–503, § 9–504, or § 9–505 of the Criminal 25
Law Article; 26

6. A violation of § 6–102, § 6–103, § 6–104, or § 6–105 of the 27
Criminal Law Article; 28

HOUSE BILL 198 3

7. A violation of § 9 –802 or § 9 –803 of the Criminal Law 1
Article; 2

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

9. A violation of § 6–301 of the Criminal Law Article; 4

10. A violation of § 9–302, § 9–303, or § 9–305 of the Criminal 5
Law Article; 6

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

12. A violation of § 6–202 of the Criminal Law Article; or 8

13. A violation of § 10–606 of the Criminal Law Article. 9

(7) “School principal” means the principal of the public or nonpublic school 10
in which a student is enrolled, or a designee of the principal, who is an administrator. 11

(8) (i) “School security officer” includes a school principal, another 12
school administrator, a law enforcement officer, or other individual employed by a local 13
school system or a local government who is designated by the county superintendent or a 14
school principal to help maintain the security and safety of a school. 15

(ii) “School security officer” does not include a teacher. 16

(9) “Student” means an individual enrolled in a public school system or 17
nonpublic school in the State who is 5 years of age or older and under 22 years of age. 18

(b) (1) IF A STUDENT IS THE S USPECT IN AN INVES TIGATION OF AN ACT 19
THAT IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT WOULD BE A FELONY OR CRIME OF V IOLENCE, 20
THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY CONDUCTING THE INVESTIGATION SHALL NOTIFY 21
THE STATE’S ATTORNEY OF THE INVES TIGATION WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE 22
IDENTIFICATION OF THE STUDENT AS A SUSPECT OR AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE. 23

(2) ON NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION, 24
THE STATE’S ATTORNEY MAY NOTIFY T HE LOCAL SUPERINTEND ENT OR THE 25
SUPERINTENDENT’S DESIGNEE WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE NOTIFIC ATION OR AS 26
SOON AS PRACTICABLE. 27

(3) IF NOTIFICATION HAS B EEN MADE UNDER PARAG RAPH (1) OF 28
THIS SUBSECTION AND THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY DETERMINES TH AT THE 29
STUDENT IS NO LONGER A SUSPECT IN THE INV ESTIGATION, WITHIN 24 HOURS OF 30
MAKING THE DETERMINA TION, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SHALL N OTIFY 31
THE STATE’S ATTORNEY THAT THE STUDENT IS NO LONGER A SUSPECT. 32

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(4) IF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY IS NOTIFIED UNDER PARAGRAPH (3) 1
OF THIS SUBSECTION A ND HAD PREVIOUSLY NO TIFIED THE LOCAL 2
SUPERINTENDENT OR SU PERINTENDENT’S DESIGNEE UNDER PAR AGRAPH (2) OF 3
THIS SUBSECTION , THE STATE’S ATTORNEY SHALL NOTIFY THE LOCAL 4
SUPERINTENDENT OR THE SUPERINTENDENT’S DESIGNEE THAT THE STUDENT IS NO 5
LONGER A SUSPECT WIT HIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIVING T HE NOTIFICATION OR A S 6
SOON AS PRACTICABLE. 7

(C) If a student is arrested for a reportable offense or an offense that is related to 8
the student’s membership in a criminal organization, the law enforcement agency making 9
the arrest: 10

(1) Shall notify the following individuals of the arrest and the charges 11
within 24 hours of the arrest or as soon as practicable: 12

(i) The local superintendent; 13

(ii) The school principal; and 14

(iii) For a school that has a school security officer, the school security 15
officer; and 16

(2) May notify the State’s Attorney of the arrest and charges. 17

[(c)] (D) The State’s Attorney shall promptly notify either the local 18
superintendent or the school principal of the disposition of the reportable offense required 19
to be reported under subsection [(b)] (C) of this section. 20

[(d)] (E) Except by order of a juvenile court or other court upon good cause 21
shown, the information obtained by an individual pursuant to subsections (b) [and], (c), 22
AND (D) of this section: 23

(1) Is confidential and may not be redisclosed by subpoena or otherwise 24
except as provided pursuant to subsections [(e) and] (f) AND (G) of this section; and 25

(2) May not be made part of the student’s permanent educational record. 26

[(e)] (F) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection [(d)] (E) of this 27
section, nothing shall prohibit a local superintendent or school principal from transmitting 28
the information obtained pursuant to subsections (b) [and], (c), AND (D) of this section as 29
a confidential file to the local superintendent of another public school system in the State 30
or another n onpublic school in the State in which the student has enrolled or been 31
transferred in order to carry out the purposes of this section if the disposition of the 32
reportable offense was a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency or the criminal charge 33
or delinquency petition is still pending. 34

HOUSE BILL 198 5

(2) A local superintendent or school principal who transmits information 1
about a student under this subsection shall include in the transmittal information 2
regarding any educational programming and related services provided to the student. 3

[(f)] (G) The State Board shall adopt regulations to ensure that information 4
obtained by a local superintendent, a school principal, or a school security officer under 5
subsections (b), (c), (D), and [(e)] (F) of this section is: 6

(1) Used to provide appropriate educational programming and related 7
services to the student and to maintain a safe and secure school environment for students 8
and school personnel; 9

(2) Transmitted only to school personnel of the school in which the student 10
is enrolled as necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in item (1) of this subsection; 11
and 12

(3) Destroyed when the student graduates or otherwise permanently 13
leaves school or turns 22 years old, whichever occurs first. 14

[(g)] (H) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 15
the local superintendent and the school principal shall consider prohibiting a student who 16
is arrested for a reportable offense involving rape or a sexual offense from attending the 17
same school or riding on the same school bus as the alleged victim of the reportable offense 18
if such action is necessary or appropriate to protect the physical or psychological well–being 19
of the alleged victim. 20

(2) If a student is arrested for a reportable offense in volving rape or a 21
sexual offense and is convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for the rape or sexual offense, 22
the student may not attend the same school or ride on the same school bus as the victim. 23

[(h)] (I) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the manner in which a local 24
school obtains information or uses information obtained by any lawful means other than 25
that set forth in subsections (b), (c), (D), and [(e)] (F) of this section. 26

[(i)] (J) Each public school that enrolls students in grades six through twelve in 27
the State shall designate at least one school security officer. 28

[(j)] (K) (1) On or before December 30 each year, the Department, in 29
accordance with State and federal privacy laws, shall submit to the Governor and, in 30
accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly a report 31
that includes the following information about each reportable offense for which a local 32
school received information under [subsection] SUBSECTIONS (b) AND (C) of this section 33
in the preceding school year: 34

(i) The nature of the reportable offense; 35

6 HOUSE BILL 198

(ii) Verification that the offense occurred off school premises; 1

(iii) Action taken by the local school and county board after being 2
notified of the reportable offense OR THE IDENT IFICATION OF A STUDE NT AS A 3
SUSPECT; 4

(iv) The race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status of the student 5
arrested for the reportable offense OR IDENTIFIED AS A SUSPECT; 6

(v) The grade of the student arrested for the reportable offense OR 7
IDENTIFIED AS A SUSPECT; 8

(vi) The regular school program of the student arrested for the 9
reportable offense OR IDENTIFIED AS A SUSPECT; 10

(vii) Whether the student’s regular school program was altered as a 11
result of the reportable offense OR IDENTIFICATION OF THE STUDENT AS A SUSPECT; 12

(viii) If the student was removed from the student’s regular school 13
program as a result of the reportable offense OR THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE STUDENT 14
AS A SUSPECT: 15

1. The amount of time during which the student was 16
removed; and 17

2. The student’s placement and educational programming 18
during the period of removal; and 19

(ix) If removed from the student’s regular school program, the 20
student’s academic performance during the time period the student was removed, including 21
attendance, grades, and standardized test scores, and any additional disciplinary actions. 22

(2) Each county board and public school shall provide the Department with 23
any information necessary to issue its report in accordance with this section. 24

[(k)] (L) If a student is removed or excluded from the student’s regular school 25
program for a reportable offense OR IDENTIFICATION AS A SUSPECT, the principal or 26
county superintendent shall invite the student’s attorney, if the student has an attorney, 27
to participate in the conference between the student or the student’s parent or guardian 28
and the principal or county superintendent, and the manifestation determination review, 29
if applicable. 30

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 31
1, 2026. 32