Efforts failed in this year’s legislative session in Annapolis to keep students suspected of murder out of classrooms, with some saying the school safety legislation is unconstitutional.

Two school safety bills, House bills 951 and 68, were both introduced into the House Ways and Means Committee, which is chaired by Maryland State Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, a Howard County Democrat. Both bills were drafted in response to FOX45’s reporting on Walter Martinez — an MS-13 gang member who’s currently serving a 70-year prison sentence for killing 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton in 2022.

According to charging documents, after the murder, Martinez was quickly identified by Aberdeen Police as the main suspect. FOX45 reported in September that, as police investigated, Martinez enrolled and attended two Maryland public schools, and neither school was told he was a threat.

House Bill 68, introduced by Baltimore County Republican Del. Nino Mangione, stated if a student is being investigated for a violent felony, that student cannot attend school in-person until the investigation is complete. House Bill 951, introduced by Harford County Republican Del. Mike Griffith, empowered local state’s attorneys to alert school systems if a student is being investigated for a violent crime.

Both bills died in Atterbeary’s committee. Neither were brought up for a vote. Project Baltimore spoke with Atterbeary Tuesday in Annapolis and asked why the bills did not move forward.

“It’s against the due process clause of the Constitution. So, we can’t do that,” Atterbeary said. “The best that we could do and the most strong language we could do was to say if someone was arrested for a reportable offense then there shall be a notification (to the school).”

The language Atterbeary mentioned is contained in House Bill 1265, which did pass her committee and is now in the Maryland Senate. HB 1265 mandates if a student transfers who is arrested and charged with a serious crime, known as a reportable offense, the new school must be alerted.

But that bill would not apply in the Martinez situation because when he transferred high schools, from Lansdowne to Edgewood, he had not yet been arrested. Police were still investigating Kayla’s murder.

But Atterbeary said House Bill 1265 was the best she could do to address the situation.

“It’s highly disappointing,” said Mangione, speaking about his bill dying in committee.

“I think we need to continue to have that conversation,” Griffith said.

Mangione and Griffith disagree with Atterbeary. They believe there is a constitutional answer to this problem. They just need more time to figure it out.

Griffith and Mangione said they plan to reintroduce their bills next legislative session in January 2026, with adjusted language to address Atterbeary’s concerns.

Have a news tip? Contact Chris Papst at cjpapst@sbgtv.com.