When your child starts high school, you typically plan for them to stay in the same school until they graduate. If they have disciplinary issues, however, the school may try to send your kid to a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP). Such a placement effectively removes your kid from their regular school and places them in a special program, where they can spend up to one year.
Getting sent to a DAEP for behavior problems, even if it's just for 30 days, can have a profound impact on your child's educational experience. The average teacher-to-student ratio in these programs is 1:15, and they may not be up to the same standards as your child's normal school. Your kid can easily fall behind, making it more difficult to reenter regular school once their placement is over. If your student is on an individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan, the change can take an even heavier toll on their studies.
If your child has been removed from regular school and is assigned to a DAEP in Texas, you may have the right to appeal—and you should. This guide helps you understand what rights your child has in this process and how to challenge the decision of being sent to DAEP.
Texas DAEPs Must Meet These Requirements—You Should Appeal If They Don't
In Texas, every school district must provide an option for a DAEP. All students have the right to an education, so if they get removed from their school, there must be an alternative education program for them to attend. Each district is in charge of designing its DAEP and determining the curriculum.
The average DAEP placement for a Texas student is 30-40 days. During that time, the child is supposed to learn how to manage their behavior and correct the problems that led to their DAEP removal. After the placement ends, the student is supposed to return to their normal school. Students typically must meet certain requirements in their DAEP programs, in addition to regular school work. These requirements could include:
- Attending counseling
- Community service
- Other behavioral targets
The DAEP program itself must also reach certain criteria to be considered a valid educational program by the state of Texas. Each DAEP program must:
- Take place in a setting other than the student's regular classroom
- Separate students assigned to DAEP from students not assigned to DAEP
- Focus on English language arts, mathematics, science, history, and self-discipline
- Address students' educational and behavioral needs
- Provide supervision and counseling
- Employ certified teachers only
DAEP programs can be physically located on the same campus as a regular school, or they may be in an entirely different location. Also, teachers that work in DAEP programs must undergo additional training in behavior management and safety procedures. Teachers must also assist with planning for a student's transition back to their regular school.
If your child gets assigned to DAEP, don't hesitate to check that the program meets all the requirements. If there isn't a plan in place for your student's return to regular school, for example, it could be grounds for appealing the placement. With the help of an attorney-advisor, you can thoroughly check that the DAEP follows all of the rules—and if you find that it doesn't, you should appeal.
When CAN'T a School Send a Student to DAEP in Texas?
Placement in a DAEP is limited to major offenses. A student should be removed from their regular school if they're late for class once or twice, for example. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) states that exclusionary measures like suspension, expulsion, and DAEP placement should be final options after everything else has been considered. It's crucial that you and your attorney-advisor understand your school district's explicit limits for sending a student to DAEP. These limits can be the basis for a strong appeal if you feel that your child's behavior shouldn't have merited a DAEP placement.
There must be a conference between you, your child, a teacher (if applicable), and a school administrator before the DAEP placement decision is final. This conference will allow you and your student to challenge the decision and force the school to consider the matter seriously before going through with it.
The final decision is up to your school, but in general, students shouldn't be sent to DAEP if:
- They acted in self-defense
- They did not have a malicious intention when acting
- They have a clean disciplinary history
- They have a disability that substantially impairs their capacity to understand that what they did was wrong
- They are in a protective services conservatorship
- They are homeless
Intent (or lack thereof) is a big issue in many DAEP cases in Texas schools. If your child violated the code of conduct but was wholly unaware that they were doing so, the discipline may be unwarranted. If a student drives their older sibling's car to school one day and doesn't know that the older sibling keeps a hunting knife in the glove box, for example, it would be unfair for the student to be sent to DAEP if the knife is found.
Why You Should Appeal a Texas DAEP Appointment
If having your child sent to an alternative education program for 30 days doesn't sound like a big deal to you, you should consider the long-lasting consequence DAEP has on kids. In many ways, the DAEP initiative in Texas hasn't worked like it was supposed to, and DAEPs end up doing more harm than good for some students.
There are several reasons why you should appeal when your child is facing DAEP placement.
Lower Quality of Education
In Texas, instructors at DAEPs are required to be certified teachers. They're also supposed to assess student progress during a DAEP placement. Many of these rules aren't carried out in practice, however, and the quality of education ends up being substandard. Also, the average duration of a DAEP placement is about two months. Spending that long away from their regular school can make it nearly impossible for students to catch up once they go back.
Attendance
Many districts have only one DAEP for the entire district and are unable to provide transportation for students assigned to them. Getting to and from school becomes a burden for students, so they simply don't attend and their grades suffer.
Treating Students Like Criminals
Students don't have to break the law to get sent to DAEP, but they still get treated like criminals. Sending them to an alternative program and forcing them to follow a behavioral plan in addition to an academic plan stigmatizes them.
Repeat Placements
It's highly likely that students who attend DAEP once will be sent again. Some students get referred multiple times in one year. After a student is sent once, administrators won't hesitate to send them again. Since prior disciplinary history is a factor when considering punishment for school misconduct, many administrators might think that DAEP is the only adequate punishment for a student who's already been placed once.
High School Dropout Rates
After a student has been sent to DAEP once, it's more likely they'll drop out or not finish high school. In Texas, most students sent to DAEP are in eighth and ninth grades. It's around these ages that dropout rates start to increase in the state.
Emotional Toll
Exclusionary discipline can have a tremendous impact on children. It separates them from friends and teachers, makes them feel isolated, and brands them as a miscreant. The academic toll this takes is already hard enough; when you consider the mental and emotional struggles of expulsion and DAEP placement, the consequences can be enormous.
Juvenile Justice System
Students who have been suspended or expelled have a higher likelihood of being involved with the juvenile justice system compared to other students. The isolation and stigmatization of a DAEP placement can lead to more behavior problems, rather than fewer. If a student falls in with a bad crowd, they could end up with a record.
There are multiple reasons why a DAEP is not a good solution for your child. You're right to worry about your child's future if they get sentenced to a DAEP. Unfortunately, Texas schools are increasingly sending students to DAEP for minor or first-time offenses, rather than keeping it as a last resort.
Your child has the right to appeal a DAEP placement and force the school to review the facts of the case carefully before sending your child off to DAEP. If your student is about to be sent to DAEP, you should call a student defense attorney-advisor for help. They can go over all the details of the case with you and help you write an appeal on your child's behalf. No student should simply accept DAEP without challenging their school.
Your Child's Future Is at Stake
You might wonder what the big deal is with getting sent to DAEP. It's only temporary, right? Is it worth going to the trouble of fighting the school on it?
Appealing a DAEP placement is absolutely worth it. As noted above, the long-term consequences of attending DAEP are immense. It's possible your child will never be able to recover academically—as well as emotionally and mentally—after DAEP.
When you do decide to challenge the school's decision, how will you know what to do? There's probably a process for appealing the decisions of school administrators and school boards, but they aren't typically easy to find. School conduct policies usually aren't forthcoming with what happens in expulsion and DAEP hearings. You can either try to figure it out on your own and risk saying or doing the wrong thing at the hearing or hire an attorney-advisor.
A student defense attorney will have a good idea of how to handle the hearing, and will be able to help you and your student with the appeal process. You will most likely have to draft a letter or statement of appeal and submit it to school authorities within a few days of the DAEP placement decision. A student defense advisor can ensure you meet this deadline and still produce a clear, convincing statement of appeal.
The rules regarding school discipline in Texas can be complex. It takes a professional to understand the rules and laws in the state and apply them to your child's disciplinary situation. If you're serious about preventing your child from attending DAEP, contacting a student defense attorney-advisor may be your best option.
How to Appeal Disciplinary Decisions in Texas Schools
Most school districts in Texas allow students (and their parents) to appeal a DAEP placement or expulsion decision by the Superintendent. Students typically have a few days to write and submit an appeal to the district board. Each district may make its own rules concerning appeals, so you'll have to check with your district about how to start the appeal process.
Austin Independent School District (AISD), for example, gives students seven business days from the date of the decision to write and submit an appeal on a DAEP placement or expulsion. In Austin schools, it's the principals who can decide to send a student to DAEP. Students may appeal this decision to:
- The Associate Superintendent
- The Chief of Schools or designee
- The Superintendent or designee
If students want to appeal the Superintendent's decision, they can appeal to the AISD Board of Trustees. Per the Texas Education Code Chapter 37.006, an appeal decision from a district's board of trustees is final.
Some school districts, like Round Rock Independent District, ask parents or students to fill out a DAEP removal appeal form. Along with this form, you can send supporting documents arguing in favor of your appeal.
Filling out an appeal form like this one should be straightforward, but often it's not. As a parent, you may not know exactly what answers to put for each of the questions, or which supporting documents to attach. For these reasons, having an experienced student defense attorney-advisor in your corner is crucial. They can help you fill out the form correctly and provide the right details for the district board to consider. They can also help you gather the appropriate supporting documents to include with your appeal form.
Does My Child Have to Attend DAEP While the Appeal Process Is Pending?
In most cases, yes, your child will still have to serve their disciplinary placement while the appeal process is ongoing. For example, the Lewisville Independent School District states explicitly on its appeal form that students must still attend DAEP.
The (HISD) Code of Conduct also states that students may be sent to DAEP while the appeal is ongoing, per the discretion of the campus administrator. Students may not be prevented from attending school while disciplinary appeal results are pending, however.
In the case of emergency DAEP placements, students are removed from their regular school environments immediately because they are deemed unruly, disruptive, or abusive, and classroom activities cannot continue due to their behavior. Students must still be given a DAEP placement hearing within 10 days of the decision, however, according to Texas Education Code Section 37.019.
Some DAEP Placements Are Ineligible for Appeal
If a student receives a Title 5 expulsion, they may not be able to appeal. A Title 5 expulsion refers to Title 5 felonies which, if committed by a student, automatically result in expulsion. Some examples of these types of felonies are:
- Murder
- Capital murder
- Manslaughter
- Criminally negligent homicide
- False imprisonment
- Kidnapping
- Aggravated kidnapping
- Trafficking of persons
- Indecency with a child
- Improper photography of or visual recording
- Assault of a public servant, security officer, emergency-services person, or correctional officer
- Sexual assault
- Aggravated assault
- Aggravated sexual assault
- Injury to a child or elderly or disabled individual
- Abandoning or endangering a child
- Deadly conduct
- Terroristic threat
- Aiding suicide
- Tampering with a consumer product
- Aggravated robbery
HISD, for example, does not allow Title 5 expulsions to be appealed.
Use These Factors to Strengthen Your DAEP Appeal
In Texas schools, teachers and administrators must consider four factors before assigning a punishment to a student:
- Whether the student acted in self defense
- The intent or lack of intent of the student when they engaged in the conduct in question
- The disciplinary history of the student
- Whether the student has a disability that impairs their ability to understand what they did was wrong
According to the Texas Education Code Code § 37.001(a)(4), all public schools must put these factors in their student codes of conduct. When it comes time to appeal a school's decision regarding your child's DAEP placement, you can question whether the school genuinely considered these four factors or not. If it did not, you might have a chance for a successful appeal.
Before a student can be sent to a DAEP in Texas, the school must meet certain requirements. Chief among these is a conference between the student, teacher (if applicable), administrator, and a parent or guardian of the student. At this conference, students must receive notice of the reasons for their removal and an explanation for the basis of the removal. Students must also have an opportunity to respond.
If this conference doesn't take place, you may have a legitimate basis to appeal your child's placement in a DAEP program.
Can Students with Disabilities Get Sent to DAEP in Texas?
Yes, students who have a disability and receive special education services at their regular high school can be sent to a DAEP. The placement must be determined by an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee, however. The ARD must conduct a manifestation determination review as well, before the school can take any disciplinary action against the student.
The formal removal process must be followed if the school wants to remove the student with a disability for more than 10 consecutive days. The alternative program must also provide the support the student needs to reach the goals of their individualized education program, according to the Texas Administrative Code, Rule §103.1201.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 put requirements in place for schools that want to remove students with disabilities for disciplinary reasons. These requirements include:
- Considering the unique circumstances of the student's actions
- Disciplinary removal due to “serious bodily injury”
- Providing services during periods of disciplinary removal
- Completing a manifestation determination
- Notifying parents and students of a discipline-related change of placement
Appeal a DAEP Appointment with a Defense Attorney-Advisor
If you're unsure of where to even begin with appealing your child's DAEP placement, you should consider contacting a student defense attorney-advisor. They'll have experience working with schools and negotiating with administrators and can talk to your child's principal and other school officials for you. They can also help you prepare for the pre-placement conference between you, your student, and the school. An attorney-advisor can coach you and your student on how to respond to the allegations.
If you need to prepare an appeal, a legal advisor can help you draft the appeal letter as well as gather documentation to support your position. They can read the school's code of conduct as well as other rules and policies to ensure all disciplinary procedures are properly followed and point out if the school has made an error. An attorney-advisor will also be familiar with the Texas Education Code and therefore know how to best protect your child's rights during the disciplinary process. Although your child is “in trouble,” they still have rights and deserve to exercise those rights, especially if the proposed punishment is as serious as DAEP placement.
DAEP Appeals Attorney-Advisor Joseph Lento
Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have helped high school students across Texas with DAEP placements. They know that appealing a DAEP decision can seem confusing and overwhelming and that both you and your child are going through a stressful time. At the Lento Law Firm, we don't believe a mistake or misunderstanding should ruin your child's future.
Contact the Lento Law Firm by calling 888-535-3686 to protect your child's education.
