Maryland — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- Maryland defines four removals by length, each in the regulation's own words. "“Short-term suspension” means the removal of a student from school for up to but not more than 3 school days for disciplinary reasons by the principal." "“Long-term suspension” means the removal of a student from school for a time period between 4 and 10 school days for disciplinary reasons by the principal." "“Extended suspension” means the exclusion of a student from a student’s regular program for a time period between 11 and 45 school days", available only on stated findings. "“Expulsion” means the exclusion of the student from the student’s regular school program for 45 school days or longer", likewise available only on stated findings — that the student's return "would pose an imminent threat of serious harm to other students or staff", that the superintendent "limits the duration of the exclusion to the shortest period practicable", and that "The school system provides the excluded student with comparable educational services and appropriate behavioral support services to promote successful return to the student’s regular academic program." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(B)) The youngest grades are largely excluded from removal altogether: "a student enrolled in a public prekindergarten program, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade may not be suspended or expelled from school", except where federal law requires expulsion or where a suspension of "not more than 5 school days per incident" follows a determination, made "in consultation with a school psychologist or other mental health professional", of an imminent threat that cannot be reduced through interventions and supports. (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(1))
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- A principal suspends for up to ten days; the local superintendent or a designated representative handles anything longer. "At the request of a principal, a local superintendent or the designated representative may suspend a student for more than 10 school days or expel the student", after which the superintendent "promptly shall make a thorough investigation of the matter" and, if an extended suspension or expulsion is warranted, "promptly shall arrange a conference with the student and the student’s parent or guardian." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(4)) The appeal runs to the local board on stated clocks: the student or parent "may appeal to the local board within 10 days after the determination", and if an appeal is filed "the local board or its designated committee or hearing officer shall have 45 days from the date the appeal was received to hear the appeal and issue a decision". Before that hearing the family "Shall be provided the school system’s witness list and a copy of the documents that the school system will present at the hearing 5 days before hearing; and" "May bring counsel and witnesses to the hearing." Two limits are stated plainly: "The appeal to the local board does not stay the decision of the county superintendent." and "The decision of the local board is final." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(4))
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources; that absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Aug 30, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own regulations quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Maryland publishes in regulation about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing regulation, the lines the state draws, and the decision-makers and appeal route, quoted with dates. The full sections (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, every stated timeline, the district delegation map, and records access) follow as the discipline layer deepens behind its breadth sprint; the change log states exactly what is not yet captured. Before a suspension of up to ten days the regulation states a conference and a notice: "The student or the student’s parent or guardian promptly shall be given a conference with the principal and any other appropriate personnel during the suspension period." and "At or before the conference, the student shall receive oral or written notice of the charges against him or her. If the student denies the charges, the student has the right to an explanation of the evidence supporting the charges and an opportunity to present the student’s side of the story." The emergency case moves the notice rather than removing it: a student whose presence "poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process may be removed immediately from school, if the notice and conference required by this subsection is provided as soon as possible." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(3)) Maryland also puts a hard stop on the tenth day of an initial suspension, with a reporting duty attached to any delay: the process "shall be completed by the 10th school day of the initial suspension. If additional time is necessary to complete the process, either because of delays due to parent or guardian unavailability or due to the complexity of the investigation, the student shall be allowed to return to school, unless the local superintendent or designated representative determines that the student’s return to school would pose an imminent threat of serious harm to other students or staff", and if the student is not allowed back "the superintendent or designee shall notify the student and the parent or guardian within 24 hours and provide the reasons for the delay in the process and the denial of reentry and send a copy of the notice to the State Superintendent of Schools;". (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(4)) In-school removal is treated as schooling rather than exclusion, and only if four conditions hold — that the student may "Appropriately progress in the general curriculum;", receive IEP services, receive "instruction commensurate with the program afforded to the student in the regular classroom;", and "Participate with peers as they would in their current education program to the extent appropriate." A student "may not receive an in-school suspension unless the student has been informed of the reasons for the suspension and has been given an opportunity to respond before the suspension becomes effective", and "After 10 days of cumulative in-school suspension, the student, the student’s parents or guardian, and the principal shall confer." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(C)(2)) What the local board writes is the conduct rules and the philosophy behind them: each board's policies "shall: (1) Reflect a discipline philosophy based on the goals of fostering, teaching, and acknowledging positive behavior;", "Describe the conduct that may lead to in-school and out-of-school suspension or expulsion;", "Address the ways the educational and counseling needs of suspended students will be met; and" "Explain why and how long-term suspensions or expulsions are last-resort options." (COMAR 13A.08.01.11(A)) That delegation will anchor the full page's delegation map. For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Maryland special education page; Maryland's own manifestation determination regulation sits at COMAR 13A.08.03.08. Confirm applicability with the local school system and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| COMAR 13A.08.01.11 (disciplinary action) | regs.maryland.gov | no adoption or effective date printed on the regulation page; retrieved Aug 30, 2026 |
| COMAR 13A.08.03.08 (manifestation determination) | regs.maryland.gov | no adoption or effective date printed on the regulation page; retrieved Aug 30, 2026 |
| The Division of State Documents' own address for COMAR 13A.08.01.11 | dsd.maryland.gov/regulations/Pages/ | returned HTTP 404 on the retrieval date; recorded as a finding, capture pending |
| Education Article §§ 7-305 and 7-306, Annotated Code of Maryland | mgaleg.maryland.gov serves the statute text client-side and returned none to this capture | capture pending |
| Maryland State Department of Education guidance on student discipline | — | not located in this review; capture pending |
| Local board student discipline policies and regulations | each local board, per COMAR 13A.08.01.11(A) | never captured; the full page's delegation map will point at them |
Change log
Aug 30, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/maryland-discipline.json: COMAR 13A.08.01.11 and COMAR 13A.08.03.08 from the state's regulations library. Findings recorded: (1) Maryland defines four removals by length in regulation — short-term at up to 3 school days, long-term at 4 to 10, extended suspension at 11 to 45, and expulsion at 45 or longer — and attaches findings to the two longest, including a requirement that the school system provide comparable educational services and behavioral support during the exclusion; (2) students in public prekindergarten through second grade may not be suspended or expelled at all, except where federal law requires expulsion or where a suspension of not more than 5 school days follows a determination made in consultation with a school psychologist or other mental health professional; (3) the state puts a hard stop on the tenth school day of an initial suspension: unless the superintendent makes an imminent-threat finding the student returns, and if not, the family must be notified within 24 hours with reasons and a copy sent to the State Superintendent of Schools — a state-level reporting duty that no other state captured so far attaches to a delayed process; (4) the appeal runs to the local board within 10 days, the board has 45 days to hear and decide, the family gets the witness list and documents 5 days before the hearing and may bring counsel and witnesses, the appeal does not stay the superintendent's decision, and the board's decision is stated to be final; (5) in-school suspension is treated as schooling only if four stated conditions hold, and a conference is required after 10 cumulative days of it; (6) the conduct rules, the discipline philosophy, and the explanation of why exclusion is a last resort are each assigned to the local board by the regulation's opening subsection — a delegation, not an absence, and the entry that will anchor the full page's delegation map; (7) no state office or parent contact appears in the sources. Capture note: Maryland carries the operative scheme in State Board regulation rather than in the Education Article, and two of the state's own addresses did not serve their text on the retrieval date — the Division of State Documents' page for this regulation returned HTTP 404, and the General Assembly's statute viewer renders the Education Article client-side and returned none. Both are recorded as findings and listed as capture pending rather than worked around. Not yet built, pending the deepening pass: sections 01–02 (framework, hoisted rows, timelines), the district delegation map, and records access. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-30. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.