Next time your kid gets called to the principal’s office, you might get a call from the police chief — if proposed legislation makes it through the Maryland General Assembly convening on Wednesday.
Lawmakers are planning to crack down on unruly minors with a bill allowing school principals to share informationwith the local police department.
“We can’t expel a troublemaker,” said state Del. Tony McConkey, R-Anne Arundel, who is sponsoring one of the bills. “If we can’t remove them permanently by federal law, we should at least have a right to know how to monitor them.”
The bill would dissolve what McConkey called the “artificial walls” of privacy laws that prevent school principals from divulging records of misconduct — such as bullying or harassment — to local law enforcement. His bill would give school principals the discretion to define the type of offenses likely to land a grade-school troublemaker on police radars.
“Ideally, I would like for all information to be shared,” McConkey said. “The rights of the troublemakers are lesser than the rights of other parents who expect that their children are going to be protected.”
McConkey may get support from House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Anne Arundel, who reinforced in an e-mail to constituents Monday that information sharing between police officers and school officials is a top priority for him this year.
Busch’s legislation, however, is focused more on managing gang activity rather than bullying and harassment. His bill would encourage police officers to share intelligence on suspected gang members with teachers and other school officials.
“New legislation will focus on reducing communication barriers to better enable our schools to be safe havens for students,” Busch wrote in the e-mail.
Both bills are a response to the highly publicized May slaying of 14-year-old Christopher Jones in Crofton.
McConkey said a bill like his could have prevented Jones’ death.
“I think there could have been a different outcome,” he said. “Police officers could devote more resources to monitoring the bad apples rather than trying to watch over 1,500 students at once.”
