Maryland bans sex offenders from public schools after Project Baltimore investigation
Students throughout Maryland are now safer in school. Following a Project Baltimore investigation, Governor Larry Hogan has signed a new law making Maryland the first state in the country to ban registered sex offenders from being students inside public schools.
The new law bans convicted sex offenders from attending Maryland public schools, while setting up alternative means to educate them outside the classroom. Previously, sex offenders could receive special permission by school administrators to enroll. Now, this new law includes a penalty of up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine if someone knowingly allows a sex offender on school property.
…” a penalty of up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine if someone knowingly allows a sex offender on school property.” So, they .ade a law that will punish more people. It’s no wonder we have the highest incarceration rate of all nations on the planet.
So if a parent has a registered child in the car when he picks up a second child at school, that parent would be subject to prosecution? Brilliant!!
Of course an option would be to leave the first child on the street outside of school grounds where she would immediately be snatched up by all the registered adults lurking near the school. (tongue-in-cheek)
Veritas.
And the parent charged with endangerment to the child they had to leave out of the car unattended. This is ridiculous. The Covid pandemic showed how many negative side effects there were to online schooling. We just love to erase issues and act like they never happened rather than find a true solution the issues.
Sure am glad all those kids are safe from the 5 year old who gave another student a hug a few years back. Oh, the horror.
Maryland put a 5-year-old on the registry??
Makes you wonder exactly how many of those CHILDREN ON THE REGISTRY committed a new offense. I bet i know how many. It rhymes with hero.
Good Job Maryland!
Wasn’t the law passed in response to a juvenile RSO who reoffended in school?
No. A victim saw her abuser at school. Teen victims don’t want their abusers attending school with them.
No again. This law was passed when a 21-year-old registrant was admitted into that high school and committed another sex offense. When I read that, the only question I had was, why was a 21-year-old admitted into that high school? I would think that was inappropriate, even without his criminal record. All states have other means of adult education, and this situation would have been avoided had he been properly sent to one of those.
Out of curiosity, what about dope dealers and gang members? They still run in most schools, but I don’t see anything about banning them. Maybe it does exist – I don’t know. But it’s certainly not publicized.
Unfortunately, it’ll be a long while before they realize how stupid, overreaching, and unnecessary this law is.
That has always been a concern of mine….law enforcement, politicians and the news outlets LOVE to publicize when a convicted sex offender is in the area….but they show absolutely no concern when there is a convicted murder or drug dealer living in your neighborhood where, I believe, there is a far greater concern and risk of violating their release. Unreal.
What about all those young teens and children that sex text each other, got caught and now have to register as a sex offender. How do they get schooling, prom, graduation, ect. They are going to denie them education. So sad.
Has Maryland prosecuted any teen for sexting?
It’s egregious to not allow children in schools to finish their educations in a positive social environment. The state may be able to set up “programs” to educate them through high school but that lacks the social interaction and growth necessary to become healthy adults.
I think the more egregious effect is that not only does it place the child/young adult on a registry that brands them for life, it stops them from getting a higher education.
They (the state) are “sentencing “ these kids to a lifetime of menial employment. It takes away whatever chances they have to overcome the effects of the registry and show the world that they’re not the monsters they’re portrayed as. It affects them and the family they may have for a lifetime. I feel that almost 100% of these kids would be at a near 0 risk of reoffending.
If ever there was an example of a sex offender registry being a lifetime “sentence” this is it.
Did I read the article correctly?…..That a 21 year old was attending that high school as a student? That’s the bigger question. How was that allowed?
My thoughts as well. Rather than look at each individual they make this blanket ban. Which we all know how that goes. Simply put, legislators are to lazy to do any real work or reform that would be beneficial.
America loves banning away their problems, although we know that won’t stop anything whatsoever.
What happens when there’s no one left to ban?
Is anyone set to challenge this law? There is no way this can be constitutional on a federal level since the federal government gives money to states for education. Even with the pandemic every educator is saying the kids can’t get an appropriate education on line and absent from the classrooms.
Sounds like another political desperate maneuver to move there career forward banking on public ignorance as as accelerator. Look out Florida your next.
“alternative means” = exiled
Decades ago it was Plessy v. Ferguson that segregated schools. This was ok because of “separate but equal”. This ruling was overturned and SCOTUS said separate was NOT equal. How is this any different?
Did I miss the sentence in the article where it said how many people on the registry were attending K-12 in public schools? It can’t possibly be that hard for them to have figured it out.
And of course the big lie, “Students throughout Maryland are now safer in school”. Sure they are.
Since they are banning these kids from all school property that probably means they will be forced to online learning and statistics show kids do better with face to face sounds like only some kids education matter to them
You are what you did 32 years ago (comments open):
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9626533/amp/California-rapist-run-21-years-caught-Florida-applying-fishing-license.html
This school system issue is a bit much in many ways. with restrictions. Call it Judgemental Justice, mental coversion type ethics, or someone pressing out punishment in a cold world ethics stay via a computer or other methods.
So who’s wearing the mask today or who is jumping on who in this registry or age is just a number. Not everyone is right but commenting in a constructive way is good in many issues.
One could look at all this registry with the many different comments on many advocacy sites in this digital age of unrest. One could even go so far as saying the registry is Sexual monkey business with a vain measure or where is truth in America.
Will everyone who committed some form of sex offense in high school please leave the room. What! The room is empty.
by the laws definitions…any student that is having sex….is committing a sex crime. Look it up. if you are a senior and you have an underclassman partner, you are guilty. so basically lock up all of today’s youth
This whole school system article that FAC has brought up has meaning. Yes I was 20 yrs of age when I graduated. The main focus was graduation. Yes I had a drug offense or Mary Jane offense, maybe a DUI but that is water under the bridge. Should one let old embers alone?
Actions can have positive effects or negative but when one is enticed my that action than that is a different circunstance. Even going down to meet a teenager as in many of these ordeals of that mature. Well I can’t drive down to meet you as I am drunk and I might get a ticket while going down to this ruse of registry.
If many notice they want you to drive down to the meeting area. Why? They don’t want sex offenders in class to graduate why? Sure they (Law enforcement) use the computer for many of these ordeals ..Why?
Its not always computers and data or should we all go with a pharse such as “A man’s got to know his liminitations.. magnum force…. or a blues brothers Aretha Franklin song … Think. So are police justifying in unspeakable ways or are we all guilty. One should see much of this registry is confusing.
You know this sex registry appears to touch of every aspect of life. Nothing wrong with getting a hight school education. Sure this registry has its pressure points and if one lets it it can bring one down. Sure some are lucky they get a high school education and being on the sex registry is just an obsticle of a man made device.
Why do you think we have advacacy? Do you all know they had advocacy in the bible. Wasn’t Moses a type of advocate, how about Daniel, or Estar. Come on people get a grip on things and start using your resources. Sure if one wants to go with data or the past I’m sure we would all have some skeleton in the closet.
Nothing wrong with a 21 yr.old graduating if that is the case in point. I’m sure the Principal or guidance counselors have some dark ordeals even those that set one up in vain ways with much of this misjustice. Many times good things come out of bad if one presses on with a positive attitude.