THERE CAN be no excuse for the reported rape of a 14-year-old girl at a Montgomery County high school, allegedly by two other students, who are undocumented immigrants. As County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) put it, “This should not happen. Period.” If proved, this horrific crime in a school district that is held out as a national model should prompt a clear-eyed review by authorities. But it should not be an excuse for bashing immigrants or questioning the provision of public education to them.

Last Thursday’s alleged attack at Rockville High School attracted national attention, including a mention from White House press secretary Sean Spicer at Tuesday’s briefing, because of the alleged involvement of two students at the school who are undocumented. Henry Sanchez-Milian, 18, and Jose O. Montano, 17, were arrested on first-degree rape and sex-offense charges after the girl told authorities she was forced into a boys’ bathroom during school hours Thursday morning and subjected to a series of vicious sexual assaults. Disclosure of the teens’ status — notably of the 18-year-old’s encounter in August with a border patrol agent for unlawfully entering the United States — has fueled questions about their enrollment in the public high school.

The attorney for one youth denied the charges, saying the encounter was consensual; the courts will determine guilt or innocence. Criticism of Montgomery school officials for meeting their obligations under state and federal law to provide a public education to anyone age 5 to 21, no matter their legal status, is misplaced — and the bigotry that assumes all undocumented immigrants are dangerous is wrong. So is the notion that liberal policies in Montgomery shielded the teens from federal immigration officials. The two had no previous criminal record, were not known to local law enforcement and were not covered by deportation orders.

If there is criticism to be leveled, it is at federal immigration authorities for an overburdened system that is ill-equipped to nimbly deal with the complicated cases of unaccompanied minors. Mr. Sanchez- Milian was still waiting for a hearing to be scheduled before an immigration judge.

Nonetheless, Montgomery officials should not be let off the hook. That so vicious an attack could allegedly have occurred in a public building at the height of the school day makes clear the need for a reexamination of school security measures. Officials also need to determine if there were warning signs about these two students that were missed. Did school officials have all the information they needed to make the best judgments about these young men and where they should be placed? While the county’s approach to educating unaccompanied minors and other children with limited English proficiency has been widely praised, are adjustments needed?

That this incident became fodder for a White House briefing — as well as ill-informed comments by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — makes dispassionate review difficult. But that’s all the more reason Montgomery officials need to thoroughly examine all the issues and share their conclusions with the public.