Austin is one of the most progressive and vibrant cities in the United States; however, the school discipline system mirrors the values of the broader state of Texas. It may shock some parents in Austin when their child is subjected to serious disciplinary action, such as placement in the Discipline Alternative Education Program (DAEP), for behavior that they may consider lower-level misconduct. Parents have valid reasons to be concerned, as being placed in DAEP can have significant long-term consequences for their children.
The Lento Law Firm is a premier nationwide student defense firm, and we have an office in Austin.
The Lento Law Firm can represent your student and act to mitigate or stop discipline or disciplinary placement. If you have student discipline issues in Austin, please call us at (888) 535-3686 or leave your details online, and we will contact you.
Schools in Austin Independent School District
The Lento Law Firm represents students in the schools in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), including:
- Anderson High School
- Bowie High School
- Austin High School
- Navarro Early College High School
- Akins Early College High School
- McCallum High School
- Liberal Arts & Science Academy
- Gorzycki Middle School
- Kealing Middle School
- Lamar Middle School
- Lively Middle School
- Lee Elementary School
- Ortega Elementary School
If your school is not listed, please note that the AISD has over 100 schools, and we represent students throughout the district. If you are in the Austin area but outside of the AISD, we can represent you as well. Note that the information on this page is particular to AISD, but call the Lento Law Firm with your questions about schools throughout Texas.
The Austin ISD Student Success Guide (Code of Conduct)
The Austin ISD School Student Success Guide (Code of Conduct) governs all disciplinary issues for member schools. Under Texas law, each school district must define and communicate their school behavior and discipline standards to students and parents.
Austin ISD defines misconduct within one of four levels:
- Level 1: Classroom Offenses
violations of classroom rules are typically handled by a teacher or other staff member.
- Level 2: Suspension or possible Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP)
This level of discipline involves a more serious disruption of the educational process at school or a school activity. AISD may seek either suspension or a DAEP, but this is discretionary.
- Level 3: Mandatory Placement in a DAEP
Criminal offenses listed in the Student Guide (and later on this page) may lead to mandatory DAEP placement, as will several more serious offenses.
- Level 4: Expulsion
Offenses that warrant expulsion are listed in the Student Guide (and later on this page).
AISD policy emphasizes that discipline is intended to correct misconduct and encourage and motivate the student (according to the Student Guide). The Guide emphasizes lower-level prevention and intervention measures before DAEP or expulsion.
Level I Offenses
Level I offenses are lower-level offenses that do not warrant more serious discipline. These offenses include:
- Cheating.
- Misuse of the computer system at school.
- Dress code violations.
- Profanity or obscene gestures to another student.
- Insubordination.
- Possessing or using tobacco products.
- Possessing a toy gun.
- Gambling.
- Leaving school without permission.
- Possessing unauthorized electronic devices during school hours.
- Some threats to other students.
- Possessing pornography.
- Classroom disruption.
- Refusing to give cell phones to teachers or school personnel.
Level I Discipline
Because these offenses are less serious, the discipline that may be imposed for Level I Offenses includes:
- Verbal correction.
- Restorative practice.
- Cooling off time out.
- Meeting with parents.
- Detention.
- Removing bus privileges.
- Not allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities.
- Lowering of a grade.
- In or out-of-school suspension.
Level I offenses are less serious, but some discipline imposed for a violation may have long-lasting negative consequences for your student. Call the Lento Law Firm today if you are concerned about Level I discipline.
Level II Offenses
Level II offenses are more serious and involve more serious potential consequences, and include:
- Hazing, harassment, and bullying.
- Sexual harassment.
- Profanity or obscene gestures to teachers or school personnel.
- Hit list.
- Setting off a fire alarm.
- Assault on another student or threats.
- Fighting.
- Possession or use of an e-cigarette.
- Possession of fireworks.
- Possession of a pellet or BB gun.
- Non-title 5 felonies (felonies committed off-campus and not against another person).
- Repetitive Level I offenses.
Discipline for Level II Offenses
Discipline at Level II becomes problematic and may involve DAEP. Discipline for Level II offenses includes:
- Counseling.
- Restorative justice (circle).
- Meeting with parents.
- In-school suspension.
- Out-of-school suspension.
- Detention.
- Not allowing students to ride the bus.
- Not allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities.
- Lowering a grade.
- Referral to agency or law enforcement.
- DAEP if the offense involves physically threatening another person or consistent misbehavior if prior interventions were unsuccessful.
While Level II offenses can result in DAEP, this should only occur after repeated instances of the same type of serious misbehavior and a failure of prior interventions. If your student faces DAEP for a Level II offense, it is vital that you speak with an experienced student defense attorney. The Lento Law Firm is available to represent your student in a hearing or appeal of Level II discipline.
Level III Offenses
Level III offenses are far more serious and include:
- Using or selling a controlled substance at an amount that is not a felony.
- Assaulting and injuring another person.
- Possessing or using marijuana or THC within 300 feet of a school unless the student has a valid prescription for low-THC cannabis.
- Possessing, selling, or using e-cigarettes within 300 feet of school.
- Possessing, selling, or using alcohol.
- Breaking a law or “behaving in a way that is close to breaking the law” against a school employee.
- Sniffing glue or other inhalants.
- Making a terrorist threat or a bomb threat.
- A juvenile court orders a student to attend DAEP as a condition of probation.
- A juvenile court places the student on deferred prosecution for actions off-campus for aggravated robbery or a felony under Title V of the Penal Code (misdemeanors and felonies against a person).
Apart from the listed offenses, the superintendent may discipline a student at this level if he believes the student was part of an aggravated robbery or felony offense against a person.
Discipline for Level III Offenses
Discipline for Level III offenses is typically mandatory if the allegations are upheld. The school district may notify law enforcement or make a juvenile department referral. Discipline may also involve:
- Emergency placement in DAEP.
- Mandatory off-campus DAEP (after a hearing).
- Restoration and restitution in some cases.
Students under six cannot be placed in DAEP unless they break a federal firearm law. Parents who face this type of discipline should contact the Lento Law Firm immediately. The hearing in this matter is serious business, and you should not go into it alone.
Level IV Offenses
Level IV offenses typically involve a mandatory expulsion and include:
- Possessing a firearm at school. (A firearm is defined broadly as a weapon “designed to or…converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.”)
- Possession or exhibition of a weapon, including a knife with a blade over 5 ½ inches or another prohibited weapon.
- Behavior constituting aggravated assault, sexual assault, arson, or kidnapping under state law.
- Behavior punishable as a felony, including sexual abuse, selling a dangerous or controlled drug, or attempting to commit murder or manslaughter.
- Retaliation against a school employee combined with a serious offense on or off school property.
Discipline for Level IV Offenses
Discipline for Level IV offenses is of the most serious nature and includes:
- Expulsion.
- Referral to the juvenile department, law enforcement, or outside agency.
- Emergency DAEP placement.
- Mandatory DAEP placement (following a hearing).
- Mandatory JJAEP placement (following a hearing).
- Restoration or restitution, in some cases.
Students younger than 10 who commit an action that warrants expulsion will receive instruction in District DAEP. For parents who face this type of discipline, contacting the Lento Law Firm as soon as possible is vital. We understand how behavior may have escalated or been misinterpreted. Call the Lento Law Firm today.
Hearing Before DAEP
Students have a right to a hearing before being disciplined or expelled. The principal will usually set the hearing, and the student's parents must be notified and be able to attend. At the hearing, the student may have an attorney who has the right to speak for them. The student must be told the essential facts concerning the allegations against them, and they must be given a right to tell their side of the story. The Student Guide implies that the hearing may occur without the student or parent being present, which is problematic. At the hearing, the principal or other decision-maker must consider:
- Whether the student acted in self-defense.
- What the student was trying to do.
- Whether the student is disabled.
- Frequency of past misconduct.
- Whether the student is homeless or in CPS.
If the hearing is for expulsion, the principal will decide whether to place the student in DAEP or the Travis County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) and will notify the parent or student of the decision. If a student is expelled, the school provides notice to the juvenile court.
Appeal
After an expulsion decision or a decision to place a student in DAEP or JJAEP, the student has seven business days to appeal. The school district will keep the student in DAEP during the appeal. If a decision was made by the Superintendent, the student may appeal to the AISD board. The AISD Board of Trustees' decision is the final step in the appeal process.
Appeal rights are too broad to describe in detail here, but keep in mind that however the decision to discipline your child was made, you have a right to appeal. Remember also that the time to take such an appeal is extremely limited, so contact the Lento Law Firm as quickly as possible. Even if a DAEP placement has commenced, we can seek review every 20 days. Don't hesitate to call the Lento Law Firm because you fear you have waited too long. We like to be involved early but take our clients as they come. Call the Lento Law Firm today.
Placing a Student in DAEP
The principal or superintendent can send a student to DAEP (pending the hearing) and will decide on the length of time the school believes the student must stay there. The longest they may order a child in DAEP is the end of the school year unless “they are a threat to students or staff or an extended placement is in the best interest of the student.” Unfortunately, the same official also determines if a student may leave DAEP so that a hostile principal or superintendent can be devastating to a student. This is why contacting the Lento Law Firm regarding the appeal is critical.
High school students go to the Alternative Learning Center, while elementary students go to the Elementary Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. Placement in DAEP must be reviewed frequently, so even if the matter has progressed beyond hearing and appeal, the Lento Law Firm can assist in reviewing and reversing DAEP placement.
How the Lento Law Firm Can Help
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team understands and knows DAEP issues in Texas and the Austin Independent School District. Parents who face serious discipline are understandably concerned about how this might affect their students. This concern is certainly warranted, as DAEP can lead to referral to state agencies or law enforcement. The Lento Law Firm can begin negotiating to mitigate or stop the disciplinary process. We know many parties involved in the disciplinary process and believe in vigorously asserting your child's rights as early as possible.
Given the time and money you have invested in your child's education, it makes no sense to fail to hire experienced counsel when facing discipline. Particularly in Texas, the DAEP process can proceed quickly and often without proper review. Don't trust your child's future to an attorney from a billboard. The experienced attorneys at the Lento Law Firm can ensure your child's rights are respected for the best outcome possible. Call us at (888) 535-3686 or leave your details online, and we will contact you.
