Maryland students with documented wandering or elopement risks should not have to experience an incident at school before their safety needs are considered.

I’m the parent of a young child with autism and high support needs, including a documented history of elopement. At my child’s October 28, 2026 IEP meeting, the team told me BCPS requires a school-based history of wandering or elopement before it will consider a location-safety tracker as assistive technology. The team said that history outside school was not enough and that this was a BCPS requirement, not its own decision. I have asked BCPS to identify the written policy or authority behind that requirement.

I have also seen numerous parents in the MD Autism Moms Facebook group raise similar concerns about getting safety supports considered for children with wandering or elopement risks. This deserves a clear, consistent statewide process.

Sabella Fae’s Law is a proposed Maryland law that would require schools to consider a student’s individual safety needs and documented information when deciding whether a location-safety device belongs in the student’s IEP as assistive technology. It would also set privacy safeguards for classmates, including securely disabling listening, recording, and direct communication functions during school hours.

A child should not have to experience an elopement or near miss on school grounds before the school system recognizes and responds to a disability-related safety risk that is already documented.

Please support Sabella Fae’s Law and urge Maryland lawmakers to advance a statewide process that protects student safety and classmates’ privacy.