SB 81 Maryland Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Criminal Law - School Resource Officers - Prohibition on Sexual Activity with Students

SB 81 prohibits law enforcement officers assigned as school resource officers (SROs) from engaging in sexual contact, vaginal intercourse, or sexual acts with students enrolled at their assigned school. It amends Maryland's criminal law (Section 3-314(e)(iv)) to explicitly include SROs in the ban, defining "school resource officer" under the Education Article (Section 7-1501(j)). Violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to 3 years in jail or a $3,000 fine. The law directly affects SROs in Maryland public schools, targeting conduct specific to their role as law enforcement officers within educational settings. It takes effect July 1, 2026.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
May 2026
Introduced Oct 28, 2025 Signed May 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Criminal Law - School Resource Officers - Prohibition on Sexual Activity with Students Third - Criminal Law - School Resource Officers - Prohibition on Sexual Activity With Students · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates the legislative tracking information to reflect its recent adoption and assigns it to a new bill number (HB 329). The core legal text regarding the prohibition of sexual activity by School Resource Officers remains substantively unchanged, with only minor formatting adjustments to the list of prohibited victims.
Scope change
No change to the scope of the law; the bill's applicability to School Resource Officers and the definition of prohibited acts remain identical to the previous version.
TECHNICAL

Added committee report status and Senate adoption date to the header.

Updated the bill's chapter number placeholder and corrected the capitalization of 'With' in the title.

Adjusted line numbers and spacing in the legal text to align with the new bill number.

Added signature lines for the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 18, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 18, 2026

How they voted

460
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 49
Feb 18, 2026
D Democratic36
34 Yea 2
94% Yea
R Republican13
12 Yea 1
92% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
15
Key actions
10
Committee
6
May 12, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 453
executive
Apr 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Returned Passed
upper
Apr 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
lower
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Report by Judiciary
lower
Mar 18, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (117-0-25)
house of delegates
Feb 27, 2026
Committee
Referred Judiciary
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Third Reading Passed
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Adopted
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Report by Judicial Proceedings
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (46-0-3)
senate
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
First Reading Judicial Proceedings
upper
Oct 28, 2025
Introduced
Pre-filed
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of William Folden
William Folden
RRepublican
MD
4