Baltimore County teacher with "red flags" rehired due to lack of background training, report shows

BALTIMORE -- A state report found that Public and private school officials lacked training on background checks, which allowed a former Baltimore County teacher with red flags to be hired and rehired.

Mark Planamente, a former teacher at The Catholic High School in East Baltimore, is serving five years in jail after pleading guilty in 2023 to sexual solicitation of a minor.

The conduct stemmed from Planamente's time at The Catholic High School between 2015 and 2017 after he had already been recommended for termination by Baltimore County Public Schools the year prior.

A report published Monday by the state's Office of the Inspector General laid out how Planamente, then 30 years old, allegedly asked a female student on social media if she had a crush on him, an allegation substantiated by investigators.

He was allowed to resign months later.

State investigators determined a Baltimore County Schools employee was not adequately trained on how to fill out background checks. The district is updating its definitions to include "grooming."

The report concluded that Catholic High School advised Sisters Academy against hiring him but checked "no" to the specific question of child abuse or sexual misconduct.

That allowed him to be hired at the middle school, where he held a teaching job at the time he was arrested in 2022. The state's Inspector General for Education says schools get it right 99.9 percent of the time.

"We want to be sure we get that 0.1 percent even further to protect students and employees," said Rick Henry, Maryland's Inspector General for Education.

The state's Department of Education will amend the Employment History form filled out by applicants to include a perjury clause, aimed at strengthening accountability.