EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*sb0127*
SENATE BILL 127
F1, E4, F2 4lr1317
(PRE–FILED)
By: Senators Watson, Carozza, and Muse
Requested: October 31, 2023
Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2024
Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment and Judicial Proceedings
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Maryland Center for School Safety – Firearm Detection Platforms – Evaluation 2
(Maryland Firearm Detection Platform Act) 3
FOR the purpose of requiring the Maryland Center for School Safety, in collaboration with 4
certain public safety and educational institutions, to conduct an evaluation of 5
firearm detection platforms; authorizing funds from the Safe Schools Fund to be used 6
to assist local school systems in the procurement and maintenance of firearm 7
detection platforms; and generally relating to the Maryland Center for School Safety 8
and firearm detection platforms. 9
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
Article – Education 11
Section 7–1501 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 14
(As enacted by Chapter 59 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2021) 15
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 16
Article – Education 17
Section 7–1512(a) 18
Annotated Code of Maryland 19
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 20
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 21
Article – Education 22
Section 7–1512(f)(9) and (10) 23
Annotated Code of Maryland 24
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 25
BY adding to 26 2 SENATE BILL 127
Article – Education 1
Section 7–1512(f)(11) 2
Annotated Code of Maryland 3
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 4
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 5
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 6
Article – Education 7
7–1501. 8
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 9
(b) “Advisory Board” means the School Safety Subcabinet Advisory Board. 10
(c) (1) “Behaviors of concern” means behaviors or threats that indicate a 11
student may pose a risk of self–harm or harm to others. 12
(2) “Behaviors of concern” includes: 13
(i) Expressions of hopelessness; 14
(ii) Known drug use; 15
(iii) Suicidal gestures or statements; and 16
(iv) Known gang activity. 17
(d) “Center” means the Maryland Center for School Safety. 18
(e) “Drill” means a formalized exercise by which school system personnel, staff, 19
or students rehearse a school emergency plan. 20
(f) “FIREARM DETECTION PLA TFORM” MEANS ANY TECHNOLOGY 21
PLATFORM OR SYSTEM THAT USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGE NCE AND OTHER 22
VALIDATION MECHANISM S TO: 23
(1) ANALYZE VIDEO STREAMS FROM SURVEILLANCE CA MERAS IN 24
REAL TIME FOR THE DETECTI ON OF FIREARMS ; AND 25
(2) PROACTIVELY NOTIFY LA W ENFORCEMENT AND OT HER PUBLIC 26
SAFETY AUTHOR ITIES. 27
(G) “Fund” means the Safe Schools Fund. 28
SENATE BILL 127 3
[(g)] (H) “Local law enforcement agency” means: 1
(1) A police department of a county or municipal corporation in the State; 2
or 3
(2) A sheriff’s office that provides a law enforcement function in a county 4
or municipal corporation in the State. 5
[(h)] (I) “Safety evaluation” means a written assessment of the safety conditions 6
in each public school, including ingress, egress, and access to areas of refuge for all 7
students. 8
[(i)] (J) “School emergency plan” means a plan for each local school system and 9
each public school within the school system that addresses mitigation of, preparedness for, 10
response to, and recovery from emergencies, including: 11
(1) Violent or traumatic events on school grounds during regular school 12
hours or during school–sponsored activities; and 13
(2) Events in the community that affect school operations. 14
[(j)] (K) “School resource officer” means: 15
(1) A law enforcement officer as defined under § 1–101(c) of the Public 16
Safety Article who has been assigned to a school in accordance with a memorandum of 17
understanding between the chief of a law enforcement agency as defined under § 3–201(d) 18
of the Public Safety Article and the local education agency; or 19
(2) A Baltimore City school police officer, as defined in § 4–318 of this 20
article. 21
[(k)] (L) “School security employee” means an individual, as defined in 22
regulations adopted by the Subcabinet, who: 23
(1) Is not a school resource officer; and 24
(2) Is employed by a local school system to provide safety and 25
security–related services at a public school. 26
[(l)] (M) “Subcabinet” means the School Safety Subcabinet. 27
[(m)] (N) “Wraparound services” means services provided to students, and their 28
families as appropriate, including: 29
(1) Mentoring; 30
4 SENATE BILL 127
(2) Tutoring; 1
(3) Child care services; 2
(4) Housing referrals; 3
(5) Transportation; 4
(6) Crisis intervention; 5
(7) Substance abuse prevention and treatment; 6
(8) Legal aid; 7
(9) Academic counseling; and 8
(10) Career counseling. 9
7–1512. 10
(a) There is a Safe Schools Fund. 11
(f) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, the Fund may be used only 12
to provide grants to local school systems to enhance school safety, including: 13
(9) Providing information to students and parents on traveling safely to 14
and from school, including data related to bus and pedestrian safety, strategies for ensuring 15
personal safety, efforts of the local school system to improve safety, and information on 16
available options for reporting incidents and concerns; [and] 17
(10) Assisting local school systems to improve and monitor traffic control 18
measures in the immediate vicinity of schools to reduce the potential for pedestrian and 19
vehicle accidents; AND 20
(11) ASSISTING LOCAL SCH OOL SYSTEMS IN P ROCURING AND 21
MAINTAINING FIREARM DETECTION PL ATFORMS ASSESSED BY THE CENTER FOR 22
USE ON PUBLIC SCHOOL PROPERTY . 23
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That : 24
(a) In this section, “firearm detection platform” means any technology platform 25
or system that uses artificial intelligence and other validation mechanisms to: 26
(1) analyze video streams from surveillance cameras in real time for the 27
detection of firearms; and 28
SENATE BILL 127 5
(2) proactively notify law enforcement and other public safety authorities. 1
(b) The Maryland Center for School Safety, in collaboration with public safety 2
agencies, the State Department of Education, local school systems, the University System 3
of Maryland, and other public institutions of higher education in the State, shall conduct 4
an evaluation of firearm detection platforms to assess: 5
(1) the capabilities of the firearm detection platform, including: 6
(i) the platform’s effectiveness in real–time firearm detection, 7
avoiding false positives, and timely notification of law enforcement personnel; 8
(ii) whether the platform contains control mechanisms to reduce 9
false positives, which may include the use of drone technology or manual validation of 10
flagged video clips; 11
(iii) the ability to integrate with building floor plan mapping tools to 12
increase law enforcement response times during emergencies; and 13
(iv) whether the platform utilizes cloud–based storage for flagged 14
video clips to aid law enforcement investigations; 15
(2) federal certifications, if any; 16
(3) the platform’s cost and maintenance requirements, including data 17
security; 18
(4) documented examples of performance in similar locations at which the 19
platform would be used; and 20
(5) the platform’s ability to adequately meet the needs of local school 21
systems and public institutions of higher education. 22
(c) On or before April 30, 2025, the Maryland Center for School Safety shall 23
submit to the State Department of Education, each county board of education, the 24
University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, and St. Mary’s College of 25
Maryland a report on the result of the evaluation required under this section, including 26
recommendations on specific firearm detection platforms. 27
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 28
1, 2024. 29