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Maryland Code, Education § 26-101

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) A person may not willfully disturb or otherwise willfully prevent the orderly conduct of the activities, administration, or classes of any institution of elementary, secondary, or higher education.

(b) A person may not molest or threaten with bodily harm any student, employee, administrator, agent, or any other individual who is lawfully:

(1) On the grounds or in the immediate vicinity of any institution of elementary, secondary, or higher education;

(2) On a school vehicle;

(3) At an activity sponsored by a school that is held off school property; or

(4) On property that is owned by a county board and is used for administrative or other purposes.

(c) A person may not threaten with bodily harm any employee of any institution of elementary, secondary, or higher education at home by any means, including in person, by telephone, or by electronic mail. This prohibition applies only to threats arising out of the scope of the employee's employment.

(d) In addition to the penalties provided in this section or in § 6-409 of the Criminal Law Article, on application by the governing board of any institution of elementary, secondary, or higher education, the circuit court of the county in which the institution is located may issue an injunction restraining any specific activities that violate this section.

(e) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $2,500, imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or both.

(f)(1) On or before December 1, 2022, and each December 1 thereafter, each county board of education, including the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, shall report to the Department on the number of school disruptions in the county in violation of this section for the immediately preceding school year.

(2) A county board shall report the information required under paragraph (1) of this subsection in the following manner:

(i) The disruptions shall be sorted into the following categories:

1. Attendance;

2. Arson, fire, or explosives;

3. Dangerous substances;

4. Sex offenses; and

5. Attack with a weapon, threats, or fighting; and

(ii) Each incident of disruption shall be disaggregated by:

1. The race, ethnicity, disability status, and gender of the individual;

2. The actions taken against an individual by the local school or county board resulting from a violation, including suspensions of fewer than 10 days, suspensions of 10 days or more, and expulsions; and

3. Referrals for prosecution.

(3) On or before February 1, 2023, and each February 1 thereafter, the Department shall submit to the Maryland Center for School Safety and, in accordance with § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly a report on incidents of school disruptions in public schools in the State from a compilation of the reports submitted to the Department under paragraph (1) of this subsection and disaggregated in the manner required under paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(4) Each county board shall include information on school disruptions from the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years in its report to the Department for the report due on December 1, 2022.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Maryland Code, Education § 26-101 - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/md/education/md-code-educ-sect-26-101/

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