MD HB1182

Authorizes public and nonpublic schools to coordinate voluntary use of wearable or portable locative devices to track students with documented wandering or elopement behavior in their IEP or behavior intervention plan, with written parental consent required

Restricts location monitoring to wandering or elopement incidents only, with data accessible solely by personnel identified in the student's IEP/behavior plan and emergency responders during incidents

Requires schools to protect locative device data with administrative, technical, and physical safeguards and retain information only as long as necessary to address elopement behavior or as required by law

Directs the State Department of Education to issue advisory guidance on incorporating locative devices into IEPs and on privacy/data protection considerations, while granting schools discretion on implementation

Prohibits requiring schools to provide or purchase locative devices, and prohibits requiring families to purchase or use devices as a condition of enrollment or services; effective July 1, 2026