New policy forces Maryland schools to share transfer student criminal histories
The Maryland State Board of Education passed emergency legislation Tuesday requiring superintendents to inform each other about students' criminal records when they transfer between school systems.
Public schools in Maryland were not required to report if transfer students were convicted of crimes or had pending cases – it was optional, but that changes with the passage of emergency legislation titled COMAR 13A.08.01.17F Confidentiality of Information and Retention of Documents.
"We must be as clear and transparent on this as possible between and across school systems when it comes to sharing information about transfer students who may pose a threat to school communities," said Maryland State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright.
This policy only addresses sharing reportable offenses related to direct student transfers within the Maryland public school system, as well as from Maryland public schools to private or out-of-state districts.
Dr. Wright said it does not apply to students with juvenile records or allegations who come from independent education programs, out-of-state, or private schools, adding that they want to develop comprehensive solutions that address those circumstances.
Board members voted unanimously to adopt policy changes that will now require school officials - superintendents, principals, and security officers - to share details of students' criminal records with each other.
The policy was added to Tuesday's meeting agenda at the last minute and comes in the wake of an incident in Howard County recently.
A 17-year-old high school student there has been accused of murdering a man in Columbia, Maryland - but was already under juvenile supervision and wearing an ankle monitor for a previous attempted murder conviction.
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A 17-year-old from Ellicott City was arrested and charged as an adult with first-degree murder in connection to a man shot to death inside a vehicle in Columbia.
When the student transferred from Anne Arundel County to Howard High, no one was made aware of that information.
State Senator Clarence Lam, who represents Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, told FOX 5 it was a loophole — so he pushed for these new regulations to ensure it doesn't happen again.
"Normally, the local school system is supposed to be made aware, but in this instance, the student moved from one county to another in between when they were convicted and as a result, the new school system wasn't informed of the prior record," Lam explained.
The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA), which represents more than 75,000 educators, teachers, and counselors, said this is a good first step.
But the organization wants to see more done in terms of pushing the information down into the schools themselves, which has been a challenge.
"Not just central office owns this information," said Nikki Woodward, MSEA vice president. "We want to ensure that we put in steps so it is trickling down from the principals to the counselors to the social workers to educators across the building who can be of support and make sure our students are safe while they're in our presence."
Since this came in as an emergency regulation, it goes into effect immediately.
The emergency status will stay in effect through April 2025.
Prince George's County Public Schools sent FOX 5 the following statement:
"Emergency legislation COMAR 13A.08.01.17F regarding confidentiality and document retention aims to enhance collaboration among Maryland school districts and improve safety for students and staff.
The presence of students charged with serious offenses, particularly those involving violence or weapons, can threaten school safety and disrupt education. PGCPS recognizes the need to balance educational support for these students with the obligation to maintain a secure and orderly school environment.
We look forward to collaborating with neighboring districts to enhance safety and security for all Maryland public school students."
Montgomery County Public Schools did not send a statement but told FOX 5 they are reviewing the new policy.
Statement from Maryland State Senator Katie Fry Hester, who represents Howard and Montgomery Counties, and also pushed for the regulation change:
"As the mother of a Howard County High school student, I was shocked to learn of the recent charging of a Howard High School student for murder. Fundamentally, the question is why did the decision makers in our school system not know this about this student’s background. Yesterday, Senator Lam, Delegate Watson and I sent a letter expressing our concern and asked the Maryland State Department of Education to take action, requesting immediate changes to how school districts share critical information to prevent this from ever happening again.
Today, we were pleased to see MSDE enact change so quickly, putting forth an emergency amendment to their regulation language to require that local superintendents share information about students charged or convicted of reportable offenses if students transfer schools.
I applaud Superintendent Wright, MSDE, and the Moore Administration for enacting change quickly. This is how government is supposed to work - when unforeseen problems arise, lawmakers and other stakeholders should work together to solve it as quickly as possible, especially when it involves public safety. The new changes will ensure that all school districts now share critical information between them and hopefully prevent anything like this from happening again anywhere in Maryland."