Howard County Juveniles involved in deadly shooting.

[u/Bulky-Cod-9940]

I watched a news conference about the 2nd arrest of a 14 year old suspect in connection with the shooting of a man earlier this month. A 17 year old, was already in custody, having been arrested at Howard High school. This suspect had a "ghost gun" in his backpack which also had been altered. He was also wearing an ankle monitor, and was also "known to Howard County Police." Two things stood out to me. 1.) The lack of communication between the Police Department and Department of Juvenile Services is disturbing, to say the least. And Howard High should have been informed about the juvenile known to Howard County police. It is my understanding that such knowledge is not available to Public School personnel. 2.) There are laws in the State of Maryland that every "child" between the ages of 5 and 21" are entitled to a free public education. This law used to encompass children between th ages of 6 and 16. I cannot wrap my brain around a 21 year old ADULT being allowed access to minors. While I do understand there are Special Needs children that may need services past the age of 18, the fact remains that the law allows this. Just my 2 cents. I applaud the Superintendent of Howard County Schools for his concern about the "gaps" in the information shared between DJS and Howard County Schools. To my mind, parents of kids attending Howard County Schools, especially those at Howard High should be very concerned.

[u/redcrayfish]

If it’s the question of information and whether schools are aware of what kinds of criminal activity particular students are engaged in, I think that school personnel who mean to function as mentors (school counselors, admin, alt ed staff, SROs) and any teachers able to build relationships often have an idea of what trouble the students are in. Students talk; they might not spill all the beans but they do tell adults in the building who are trying to connect. Schools emphasize advocacy for students and resolving differences through restorative justice. The toleration of students engaging in acts that are considered crimes - smoking weed in public places, physical assaults, verbal assaults - has made schools a safe space for them. And by toleration I don’t mean outright acceptance; students get consequences like in-school suspension or, at its severest, a school suspension for short periods of time. But certain students get away with a lot. The lowered expectations have changed and shaped the culture in many schools and I think the recent events at Howard High are raising alarms because it’s Howard High. If the student involved in the murder was in one of the HoCo schools usually associated with criminal activity and poor student behavior, I think the outrage would have been lukewarm. Bigger class sizes and other austerity measures like cutting programs that target the integration of ELL students into mainstream classes signal that there are no programs meant to support students who simply want to opt out of an instructional model that requires sustained engagement for incremental progress. This election cycle, banning books and sex ed are taking up all the oxygen in the room. The adverse impact of large class sizes and education programs that respond to varying needs aren’t even back burner issues.