BALTIMORE — In the wake of an alleged murder by a Howard County high school student, the Maryland school board is addressing what it calls a communication gap.​
​
The previous regulation did not require the school district from which a student who had committed a criminal act was transferred to alert the district to which the student was being transferred that districts could do so.

The emergency regulations require the first school to alert the school hosting the student. ​
​​
​“In what we do, we seek to close this communication gap to ensure that a receiving school district has this active information regarding a reportable offense,” said Dr. Joshua Michael, president of the Maryland Board of Education.​
​
Reportable offenses are primarily criminal offenses – things like murder, arson, armed hijacking or sexual offenses, to name a few.
​
​In the Howard County case that prompted the change, the student had already been convicted of attempted murder in another county.​
​
The Howard County superintendent says he was never informed of the criminal history.​
​​
​“Transferring this information to another institution is essential to maintaining a safe and secure school environment,” said Dr. Carey M. Wright, Maryland State Superintendent of Public Schools.
​
​Lawmakers spent time asking questions about the regulation.
​​
​“Why does the regulation only refer to school principals and school resource officers,” asked Sen. Chris West, Republican of Baltimore County.
​
​“In theory, we don’t actually know who their director or their security guard is going to be,” Michael said.
​
​Lawmakers wanted more data on the frequency of problems like the one in Howard County.
​
​Another issue the state raised is that when crimes occur in one county and the student goes to school in another, there can be delays in notifying police about the problem.
​
​“Communication between law enforcement in one jurisdiction and the school district in another poses a particular challenge,” Michael said.
​
​Overall, lawmakers seemed on board with the idea of ​​making changes, even wondering what else the board needed to make schools safer. ​

The next time the group meets will be in the new year.

A decision must be made by the end of the legislative session whether to extend the emergency order or let it expire.