The Maryland State Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt policy changes requiring school officials to share certain information from students’ criminal records with one another.
The policy, added Tuesday morning to Maryland State Board of Education’s agenda, comes after lawmakers raised concerns over communication pitfalls in the wake of two high school students being arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a teenager in Columbia.
The revised policy requires local superintendents to forward information about students charged or convicted of “reportable offenses” — certain serious offenses that happen outside school — to education officials in other school districts when the student transfers between schools. Previously, communication between different school districts was optional.
The policy change was brought to Tuesday’s state board meeting as an emergency regulation, meaning it takes effect before going through a public comment period.
Legislative approval is needed for the regulation to take effect, and the state school board has requested that it start Tuesday and run through April 20, 2025, spokesperson Raven Hill said. The state’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review can also adjust the dates when the regulation is in effect.