Annapolis, MD (WBFF) — A push to make schools safer is working its way through the General Assembly in Annapolis, but not without pushback.

On Tuesday, the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee heard HB951 which would help ensure schools are informed when students are being investigated for allegedly committing serious crimes.

Tammy Nobles attended the committee hearing with a clear message to deliver.

“I came here to testify, to make Maryland schools safer,” said Nobles, the mother of a murdered daughter. “Kayla would want change.”

In 2022, Nobles’ daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was killed in Harford County by Walter Martinez, an MS-13 gang member who is in the country illegally. Martinez is now serving a 70-year prison sentence.

According to charging documents, after the murder, Martinez was quickly identified as the main suspect. But in September, Project Baltimore first broke the news, that as police investigated, Martinez enrolled and attended two Maryland public schools. And, neither school was told he was a threat.

“With these changes we believe this closes the loopholes,” said HB951’s sponsor Delegate Mike Griffith, a Republican representing Harford and Cecil Counties. “I believe we can all agree the safety of our children is paramount.”

Currently, Maryland law only requires schools to be notified if a student is arrested and charged with certain crimes - known as reportable offenses. Griffith’s bill, which was drafted in response to Project Baltimore’s reporting, does two things. First, it expands the number of reportable offenses to include additional sex crimes. Secondly, it gives state’s attorneys the authority to alert school superintendents or their designee if a student is suspected of committing a violent felony.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey supported the legislation.

“We were unable to, under the current law, to notify the schools of the danger he presented and that he was a suspect in this heinous crime,” Healey explained.

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly and Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson also supported the bill at the hearing.

“Please help us deal with this. We need your help,” urged Cassilly.

Bulson added, “We, of course, the school officials had no awareness of the threat he posed, We need the information to be able to be able to do the work. You know, we want to educate every student.”

Griffith’s bill does not mandate that state’s attorneys inform schools if a student is being investigated for a violent felony. They will have discretion. Despite that language, the bill was strongly opposed by the Maryland Coalition to Reform School Discipline and the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which was represented by Abbie Flanagan.

“This bill undermines the presumption of innocence, undermines a student’s reputation and risks compromising ongoing investigations,” said Flanagan.

Flanagan, at the hearing, argued the bill is unconstitutional because it violates due process rights of students accused of serious crimes.

Griffith says HB951 does not violate due process rights because only a school superintendent or their designee receives the information from the State’s Attorney. And the bill does not force schools to take any action. It just helps provide the information so districts can better protect all students, which is the message Nobles delivered at Tuesday’s hearing.

“We need to do better,” Nobles testified. “For our children in schools here in Maryland, the safety of all children and staff should come first and not the criminals.”

Project Baltimore will continue to follow House Bill 951. We’ll keep you updated on if the bill, or a version of it, makes its way out of committee and heads to the entire House of Delegates.

Griffith’s bill is not the only one that’s been drafted in response to Project Baltimore’s reporting. Baltimore County Delegate Nino Mangione filled legislation he calls, “The Student Protection Act of 2025.”

Mangione’s bill would bar “children suspected of a crime of violence” from attending school “In-person” until the “investigation is complete.” Instead, a school would have to provide “alternative educational options”, such as virtual learning.

Mangione’s bill was heard more than a month ago. But has not progressed.