If your child attends a San Antonio high school and recently got in trouble, you're likely concerned about what to do next. The San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), like all school districts in Texas, offers various levels of penalties depending on the nature and severity of the offense.
Levels can range from relatively minor classroom behavior problems that teachers can address, to more serious violations that require the school to remove the student from the classroom for the safety of other students and staff.
For Level III offenses and above, students may be referred to the San Antonio ISD's DAEP. Although DAEP is supposed to provide a safe and nurturing environment and empower students to succeed, opponents of the program assert that it does achieve its vision or mission. In fact, some claim it may do more harm than good.
Regardless, a DAEP referral is a serious matter that can derail your child's academics and future success. If your child received a referral to DAEP, you must address the matter quickly, and you need to consult an experienced San Antonio student attorney-advisor for help.
Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm have considerable experience helping high school students throughout San Antonio, as well as across Texas and the entire country. Our legal team provides a level of service others can't because we have the skills, knowledge, and resources to handle any case efficiently and obtain the most favorable results possible.
We will review your case, advise you of your options, and fight hard for your child's education and future. Contact The Lento Law Firm today at 888.535.3686 to schedule a confidential consultation.
San Antonio Area High Schools
The San Antonio Independent School District has more than 90 schools and serves around 47,000 students. The district has 17 high schools:
- Advanced Learning Academy
- Brackenridge High School
- Burbank High School
- CAST Med
- CAST Tech
- Edison High School
- Evening FLEX High School
- Fox Tech
- Highlands High School
- Sam Houston High School
- Jefferson High School
- Lanier High School
- Phoenix Middle College (10-12)
- St. Philip's ECHS
- Travis ECHS
- Young Men's Leadership Academy
- Young Women's Leadership Academy
The San Antonio ISD also has several DAEP schools, or academies, such as the Estrada Achievement Center, DAEP at Holmgreen, and the Emma Frey Alternative Education Program. The district also has the Cooper Academy at Navarro that focuses on drop-out prevention and helping students graduate.
If your child has gotten in trouble at any San Antonio area high school and received a DAEP referral, contact the student defense team at the Lento Law Firm right away for help.
What is DAEP?
In 1995, Texas required all state schools to implement disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEP) for students removed from their regular classroom due to “mandatory or discretionary disciplinary reasons.” DEAP applies to students from elementary school through high school.
DAEP is for students who violate a student code of conduct or are convicted of a felony. Texas also has a Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) for students expelled from school for extremely serious offenses, such as bringing a weapon on campus or sexually assaulting someone.
However, students can receive a DAEP referral for a variety of violations, some of which may be better addressed using other forms of discipline.
Nevertheless, all San Antonio schools offer a DAEP program to deal with students who violate the code of conduct or pose a threat to the education or safety of students and staff.
The mission of DAEP in San Antonio schools is to provide a “safe, nurturing environment that fosters community growth through guidance and support.” It seeks to empower students to become contributing members of society and provide them with “the resources and skills necessary for future success.”
What Is San Antonio ISD's Student Code of Conduct?
The San Antonio ISD sets behavioral and ethical guidelines and rules in its student code of conduct. The district also expects students to adhere to all local, state, and federal laws. These rules apply to students who are on campus, on a means of school transport, or attending a school-sponsored event. Students may face disciplinary action by violating any of the five levels of misconduct. They include:
Level I - Teacher-Managed Behaviors
These situations are for students who violate classroom rules that the teacher can handle. Offenses can include refusing to follow directions, cheating, throwing objects, or aggravating other students, among others.
Level II - Administrative Review Offenses
These offenses may require administrative involvement, and they include violations such as skipping class, leaving school grounds, engaging in “unwelcome physical contact” with other students or staff, and stealing.
Level III – DAEP Placement Offenses
For offenses considered more serious than Level II, students may face a DAEP referral. Violations include multiple and continued violations of Level I or II offenses or any of the other offenses listed under Level III violations found in the student code, which include:
- Engaging in “elements of assault without bodily injury”
- Possessing a knife or any other item that could be perceived as a weapon but does not meet the Texas Penal Code's definition of a weapon
- Other unruly, disruptive, or disrespectful behavior
Students may also face mandatory DAEP placement if they conduct certain violations within 300 feet of a school or school bus, or during a school-sponsored event. They include, but are not limited to:
- Conducting assault with bodily injury
- Possessing, selling, using, or delivering alcohol, marijuana, or other narcotics and controlled substances
- Bullying a student so they commit or attempt suicide
- Engaging in public lewdness, graffiti, or harassment
- Conducting a criminal offense punishable as a felony, such as aggravated robbery
Students may also receive mandatory DAEP placement if they call in a bomb threat or engage in “certain expellable conduct.”
Level IV – Expulsion Offenses
The following offenses may result in a student being expelled or referred to DAEP:
- Selling, possessing, or delivering to someone else—or being under the influence of—drugs, alcohol, or any controlled substance
- Assaulting a district employee or volunteer
- Breaching computer security or hacking into school computers and databases
- Engaging in deadly conduct
- Engaging in criminal mischief, such as vandalism
- Possessing a firearm, restricted knife, or prohibited weapon off school campus but within 300 feet of a school
- Engaging in a felony punishable offense off school campus but within 300 feet of a school
Students may also receive mandatory expulsion if they engage in conduct prohibited by the Texas Penal Code as a felony offense, which can include aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, sexual assault, drug-related offenses, murder, and kidnapping. It also includes possessing, exhibiting, or using a firearm.
If a student receives emergency placement in DAEP or expulsion, they will receive oral notice from the administration as to the reason for the action. The student will be afforded due process after a “reasonable time” of being expelled or placed in DAEP.
Level V – Title 5 Felony Offenses
A student may be expelled or placed in DAEP if the district Board or official designees find any of the following against the student:
- They received deferred prosecution for aggravated robbery of another Title 5 felony offense
- A court or jury found them guilty of engaging in delinquent conduct defined as aggravated robbery or a Title 5 felony offense
- They were charged with a Title 5 felony offense
- The received juvenile court referral for engaging in a Title 5 offense
- They are on probation for a Title 5 offense
For Level IV and V offenses, and Level III offenses that contain a criminal element, San Antonio School District Police, other law enforcement, and the school's administration will all work together to report and handle serious disciplinary issues. In some cases, the administration will inform district or local law enforcement of the violation—in other cases, law enforcement will alert the school administration.
Hearing
For Level V and certain Level IV violations, the school administration will conduct a full hearing into the matter before deciding whether to expel a student. When making their decisions, administrators must consider the following:
- Whether the action was in self-defense
- The student's intent or lack of intent in perpetrating the offense
- The student's disciplinary history
- Whether the student has a disability, and whether the disability contributed to the action
- Whether the student is in foster care or in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Child Protective Services
- Whether the student is homeless
- Whether the student is in 2nd grade or below
Students in danger of expulsion or DAEP placement must receive a hearing before the Board. For students who receive emergency placement in DAEP, administrators must schedule an “appropriate conference” within 10 days of the placement. The Board must consider whether the student's presence in the classroom:
- Threatens other students' or teachers' safety
- Will adversely affect the education process
- Is not in the best interests of other students
The duration of a student's placement will depend on the nature and severity of the violation and will be determined by a campus behavior coordinator or administrator.
A student will remain in placement until one of the following occurs:
- They graduate from high school
- The charges are dismissed
- The student completes the terms of the placement
Terms of placement can range from 45 days to a year or more. The moment you learn of your child's referral to DAEP placement, you should contact an experienced Texas student attorney-advisor immediately.
Appealing a DAEP Referral
Students and their parents or guardians may appeal the administrators' decision regarding DAEP placement in some cases. For Title 5 offense expulsions, the district states that “any decision of the board…is final and may not be appealed.” However, students may request a review of the expulsion decision by writing to the superintendent within three days of the due process hearing.
A student, parent, or guardian may appeal placement as a registered sex offender by requesting a conference with the Board, but any Board decision will be final. Students, parents, and guardians may also appeal the duration of placement in DAEP if the placement extends “beyond the end of the next grading period.”
Students and their parents may also appeal a superintendent's decision regarding DAEP placement to the school board. The board may uphold or reverse the superintendent's decision. If the board confirms the decisions, students and their parents can appeal to the Commissioner of Education.
Students may not return to their regular classroom pending any appeals.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help?
Many teenagers make mistakes or questionable decisions, but a momentary lapse of reason should not curtail a child's education and adversely affect their future. Also, your child could have been unduly included in a group of students accused of wrongdoing when your child didn't actually do anything wrong. There are also situations where other students and even teachers and staff falsely accuse a student of wrongdoing.
The San Antonio ISD lists many forms of discipline that may be more appropriate and effective than DAEP placement. DAEP programs often criminalize normal teenage activity or place otherwise law-abiding students among those who conduct criminal activity. DAEPs also demoralize students, which can have negative impacts on their self-esteem. Students often act out from feelings of anger and apathy.
Do not let a DAEP placement ruin your child's chances for a successful academic and professional career. You need an experienced Texas student attorney-advisor on your side to help protect your child's rights and look out for their best interests.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the student defense team at the Lento Law Firm have many years of experience fighting for the future of students throughout Texas and across the country. We will review your case and advise you of your options. You can rely on us to advocate strongly for your child throughout all disciplinary proceedings, and our legal team has considerable criminal defense experience as well.
Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 today to schedule a consultation.
