Since 1995, Texas has required all public school districts to provide disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs), which are campuses operated by the school district that are separate from the student's usual campus. DAEPs provide an alternative education setting for students who are temporarily removed from their regular instructional setting because they committed an offense that violated the school's Student Code of Conduct.

While the Texas Education Code specifies the guidelines for assigning a student to the DAEP and stipulates that school districts must meet the educational and behavioral needs of students who are assigned to a DAEP, the design and content of the program are left to the discretion of the school district.

When a school does not meet a student's educational and behavioral needs, that student has rights. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help your student avoid DAEP placement in Texas . If your student has experienced discrimination in school, call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or tell us about your case online.

Complaint of Hostile Environment Reaches Department of Justice

DAEPs have now come under scrutiny in Texas, based on allegations that Black and disabled students in Bonham were treated unfairly in being sent to DAEP. In a recent filing to the U.S. Department of Justice, four civil rights groups, including the Disability Rights Texas, Texas Appleseed, Texas Civil Rights Project, and the National Center for Youth Law, allege that the Bonham Independent School District fostered a hostile school environment for Black and disabled students and unfairly penalized those students by frequently sending them to disciplinary alternative education programs or in some cases to the county jail. The groups asked the Department of Justice to require the Bonham Independent School District to compensate the students who suffered harm, modify their policies, and conduct bias training for school and court employees.

Texas Education Code: Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs

Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code specifies the guidelines and procedures for assigning a student to the DAEP: the campus behavior coordinator or appropriate administrator must schedule a conference with the student's parent or guardian, the student, and the teacher removing the student from class. At this conference, the student is legally entitled to either written or oral notification of the reasons they are being sent to the DAEP and an explanation of the basis for the removal. The student must also be given an opportunity to respond.

By law, the administrator, at the conclusion of the meeting, is required to consider these mitigating factors when deciding whether to send a student to a DAEP:

• Intent or lack of intent
• Self-defense
• Prior discipline history
• Whether the student has a disability that substantially impairs his/her capacity to comprehend the wrongfulness of the conduct

If these mitigating factors do not absolve the student from the consequences of their actions, the student will be sent to a DAEP. The length of time the student will be sent to the DAEP is determined by the school district.

All students have the right to a safe learning environment. In giving so much discretion to the individual school district, protections for students often fail. If your student has been unfairly sent to a DAEP, we can help. The Lento Law Firm Team has extensive experience addressing K-12 student issues and has helped hundreds of students across the country. Contact us today or call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686.