§ 4–149

The Department shall develop a model sexual abuse and misconduct response policy for use by local school systems to respond to school–related allegations of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct.

The model response policy developed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall, at minimum, include the following components:

The model response policy may not impede or compromise the ability of a school, a school system, a law enforcement agency, or a prosecutor to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.

The components of the model response policy developed under subsection (b) of this section shall include the information required under this subsection and be developed in collaboration with State and local governmental entities, community stakeholders, and any other relevant entities determined by the Department.

The communications plan shall include best practices for providing timely, relevant, and appropriate information through notification and responses to parents of affected students and community stakeholders and local school system contact information.

The e–mail and other electronic communication documents retention policy shall include requirements for the retention and maintenance of a local school system’s e–mails and other electronic communication documents for a minimum of 1 year.

A centralized, statewide resource platform, developed in accordance with the model response policy, shall include information and provide links to resources regarding child sexual abuse and sexual misconduct in a school environment.

An after–action review plan, developed in accordance with the model response policy, shall require a local school system to conduct a structured, collaborative debriefing process to identify, assess, evaluate, and resolve any issue with any action taken by an entity involved in a school–related case of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct to improve future performance.

On or before September 1, 2027, each local school system shall adopt a response policy based on the model policy developed by the Department under subsection (b) of this section.

Each local school system shall post in a conspicuous place on its website a link to the centralized resource platform developed under subsection (c) of this section.

Each local school system’s response policy may not impede or compromise the ability of a school, the local school system, a law enforcement agency, or a prosecutor to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.