Montgomery County Public Schools has refused to disclose how often its staff initiate emergency petitions, a legal tool that can result in students being handcuffed, sedated and transported to an emergency room, according to a Baltimore Banner investigation published Aug. 17.

When The Banner requested records, MCPS officials directed the outlet to the Montgomery County Police Department. Police, in turn, told reporters to contact the school system.

No documents were produced.

Families at Winston Churchill High School, Thomas S. Wootton High School and Herbert Hoover Middle School, all of which host specialized programs for students with significant behavioral and developmental needs, have no way to know how often the practice occurs at their children's schools.

What is an emergency petition?

Under Maryland law, an emergency petition allows law enforcement or social workers to force a person into an emergency room if they have a mental disorder and pose a danger to themselves or others. A doctor then decides whether to commit the person to a psychiatric facility.

The Banner found Maryland schools initiated the process more than 1,500 times since 2021 through public records requests to the state's largest districts and local law enforcement. Maryland collects no statewide data on the practice.

Disability advocates say the tool has been misused to remove children whose behaviors signal they need more support, not hospitalization, leaving families with trauma and hefty ER bills.

"Sometimes, young children are simply having a tantrum and, by the time the police or the parent arrive, the child is calm but is transported to the hospital anyway," Leslie Margolis, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, told lawmakers during a 2026 hearing.

Potomac schools in the gap

Churchill hosts Autism Resource Services, Bridge Services for students with significant social-emotional challenges and a separate Autism Services program. Wootton hosts Autism Services and a School Community-Based Program for students with profound intellectual disabilities. Hoover runs Bridge Services for middle schoolers with behavioral challenges, according to MCPS program listings.

Those programs serve exactly the population most vulnerable to emergency petitions statewide. In Washington County, where The Banner obtained sheriff's office data, 36% of petitions over five years involved Black children despite Black students making up less than 20% of enrollment. About half of last year's 30 campus petitions involved children 10 or younger.

A bill that died, a budget that shrank

Del. Stephanie Smith introduced House Bill 1060 in the 2026 session to require districts to track each emergency petition by the student's age, race, disability status and whether handcuffs were used. The bill never made it out of committee.

Meanwhile, MCPS eliminated 43 social worker positions in its fiscal year 2027 budget, according to a June 2026 open letter from MCPS student journalists. Social workers provide the crisis support that can prevent a behavioral episode from escalating to an emergency petition.

Baltimore City schools offer a counterpoint: after leaders began tracking petitions, training officers on de-escalation and issuing guidance on when the tool is appropriate, removals fell roughly 60%.

What Potomac parents should know

The 2026-2027 school year begins Tuesday, Aug. 25. Parents of students with IEPs or 504 plans can request a meeting with their child's team to discuss crisis protocols and de-escalation strategies before the first day.

The next opportunity for Maryland lawmakers to revisit emergency petition tracking legislation would come in the 2027 General Assembly session.