If your student is facing a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) placement, you may be unsure of what, if anything, you can do. You know that school districts can discipline students, but you know that a DAEP placement isn't in your student's best interests.
Families turn to the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm for a variety of reasons. You may agree with the school that your child made a mistake but disagree with the DAEP placement. You may think the placement length is unduly harsh.
A school may not have fully investigated the alleged misconduct or failed to put your student's actions into context. After all, there's an enormous difference between instigating a fight and self-defense.
School staff may not have the resources or time to gather all of the relevant evidence and witness statements. Your student may have a disability that can affect their behavior, meaning your student needs better special education support rather than a DAEP placement.
You're perhaps overwhelmed or stressed by your child's DAEP placement. You want to help your student, but you aren't sure how.
If your student attends Brownsville Independent School District, we can help. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm works with families whose students attend Brownsville ISD and school districts throughout Texas. We help our clients understand the relevant laws and policies and build a defense to protect their student's education and future.
Students have due process rights. Schools don't have blanket authority to discipline students without honoring those rights.
If your student is facing a DAEP placement or is already in a placement, we can help. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
What's a DAEP?
Disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs) have been part of Texas's educational system since the 1990s. A student may be placed in a DAEP following misconduct.
School districts must have a DAEP or share a DAEP with another school district. All DAEPs:
- Cannot be in a student's regular classroom
- DAEPs don't have to be in a student's regular school
- Students placed in DAEP must be separated from other students
- DAEP instruction focuses on English, math, science, history, and self-discipline
- Support students' educational and behavioral needs
- Provide supervision and counseling
- Teachers in DAEP must meet Texas's certification requirements
Brownsville Independent School District
Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) is the primary school district in Brownsville, Texas. The largest school district in the Rio Grande Valley area, it also serves the following communities:
- Rancho Viejo
- Unincorporated areas in Cameron County that include:
- Cameron Park
- Reid Hope King
- San Pedro
- South Point
- Villa Pancho
Students who attend Brownsville ISD and have a DAEP placement will most likely be sent to attend the Brownsville Academic Center (BAC). The district also works with the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Placement (JJAEP) in San Benito.
BAC, located in Brownsville, is the district's primary DAEP placement. When a student has a pending hearing or DAEP placement, Brownsville ISD has the authority to place that student in an in-school or out-of-school suspension.
When placed in BAC, students must satisfy exit requirements before they can return to their normal campus.
Getting Help
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm has four offices in Texas. Austin and Houston are our two closest offices for Brownsville ISD students and their families.
Our team works with families throughout Texas. While understanding the relevant state and federal laws is crucial for our jobs, we balance that knowledge against appreciating each school district's unique character and policies.
Types of Placements
Following Texas law, Brownsville ISD has two types of DAEP placements: mandatory and discretionary. Mandatory assignments occur when a student's conduct falls under the behavior listed in Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code. Students must be placed in DAEP when they commit a mandatory offense.
Discretionary offenses are just that: They may or may not result in a DAEP placement. Discretionary placements are often for violations of the school district's code of conduct or other policies.
Mandatory DAEP Placements
A student may face a mandatory DAEP placement when they engage in certain types of conduct. While Texas establishes some of these requirements for mandatory placements, school districts may include other conduct that results in a mandatory placement.
Conduct that may result in a mandatory DAEP placement includes:
- A student being involved in a false report or alarm (such as a bomb threat) or a terrorist threat to a public school
- A student is within 300 feet of school property or attending a school event (on- or off-campus) when they commit one or more of the following offenses:
- Assault that involves a bodily injury
- Conduct that is punishable as a felony
- Selling, giving, delivering, using, or being under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, a controlled substance, cigarettes or e-cigarettes, or a dangerous drug if the amount is below what qualifies for a felony
- Felony-level drug offenses may result in expulsion
- Students who have a valid prescription for low-THC cannabis are exempt
- Public lewdness or indecent exposure
- Harassment
- Retaliates against a school staff member or volunteer
- For students between six and nine years of age who commit an expellable offense
- For students under age six, commit a federal firearms violation
- In some situations, when a student commits aggravated robbery or certain felonies
- If a student is a registered sex offender and under court supervision
If a school finds that a student engaged in any of this conduct, they must place the student in a DAEP.
Discretionary DAEP Placements
School districts have more leeway with discretionary placements and more flexibility in deciding what conduct falls under this category. Brownsville ISD considers the location for some discretionary placements. Some conduct may occur at any location, while others must occur at school, within 300 Feet of a school, or at a school event.
Bullying, for example, may subject a student to a DAEP placement wherever it occurs. Releasing any intimate images of any student under 18 years old without that student's consent may also result in a DAEP placement.
Emergency Placements
Emergency DAEP placements occur when school staff believe that placement is necessary to protect the safety and welfare of other members of a school community. At the time of the placement, the principal or another member of the school administration must verbally inform the student and the parents or guardians of the reasons for the placement.
Emergency placements shouldn't interfere with students' due process rights. The goal of an emergency placement is to balance school safety against an individual student's rights. Within 10 days of an emergency placement, a district must honor that student's due process rights. For students with disabilities, the term of the student's emergency placement must comply with federal laws.
Long-Term Placements
Texas generally limits DAEP placements to one year. The state does have exceptions for this general requirement.
School officials may extend a student's DAEP placement when a district finds that:
- A student poses a threat to the safety of other members of the school community
- Continuing with a DAEP placement is in a student's best interests
DAEP Considerations
When determining if a student should be placed in a DAEP, Texas expects school districts to consider the following questions:
- Did the student act in self-defense?
- Did the student have the intent (or lack of intent) when they engaged in the alleged conduct?
- Does the student have any disciplinary history?
- Does the student have:
- An eligible disability?
- Does that disability substantially impair their ability to understand their conduct and why it was wrong?
For emergency placements, a school district can remove a student but must tell them verbally why they're being placed in a DAEP. School districts must still provide a student with their due process rights within ten days of a placement.
For placements longer than sixty days or that extend into the next grading period, school districts must notify parents of the opportunity to participate in a hearing before the district's board of trustees. Families cannot appeal any decision made by the board.
School districts must provide all students and families with information about DAEPs, such as:
- Requirements for notifying parents and guardians
- The district's standards for the length of DAEP removals
Families should consult the Brownsville ISD code of conduct about each school year's specific policies.
DAEPS in Brownsville ISD
BISD provides its student-parent handbook and student code of conduct in both English and Spanish. About DAEPs, Brownsville ISD says:
Brownsville has both short- and long-term disciplinary placements for DAEPs. Short-term placements are up to 30 days, and long-term placements are 45 days or more.
Appeals
The Brownsville ISD Code of Conduct lists the appeals process for DAEP placements. Families must submit a written appeal to the Superintendent's Designee via the Administrator for the Department of Pupil Services. This appeal must be made within two days of BISD notifying parents or guardians of their student's DAEP placement.
The Superintendent Designee's decision on an appeal is final. Families cannot appeal that decision.
When the Superintendent Designee decides to place a student in either a DAEP or Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Placement (JJAEP), families have to submit a written appeal within three school days. They will submit the written appeal to the Department of Pupil Services.
If families fail to meet the required deadlines, they will lose the right to appeal their student's DAEP placement.
Students with Disabilities and DAEPs at Brownsville ISD
Brownsville ISD can discipline a student with disabilities, but the process is somewhat different. Students with disabilities are more likely to face disciplinary action, including being placed in a DAEP.
Federal and Texas law recognizes that some disabilities involve behavioral issues or difficulty in understanding right versus wrong. A student with disabilities may also engage in misconduct due to a lack of support or effective accommodations.
When a student with disabilities has engaged in misconduct or other behavior banned by district, school, or classroom policies, BISD recommends over 20 alternative discipline management techniques.
In some cases, when a student has a disability, school districts may have to conduct a manifestation determination. This process focuses on understanding the relationship, if any, between a disability and a student's behavior or actions.
If a student's misconduct isn't related to their disability, schools may discipline the student as the district would discipline any other member of the student body who engaged in similar conduct. Students must still receive special education services during a DAEP placement, but the services provided can be different from what a student usually receives.
If a student's misconduct does substantially relate to their disability, the school must conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA). The goal of an FBA is to better understand a student's behavior and create a behavior intervention plan (BIP).
If your student has a disability, the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can assist you with protecting your child's education. We work with families to avoid ineffective disciplinary actions, such as DAEP placements.
Undiagnosed Disabilities and DAEP
A student may be engaging in misconduct or facing a DAEP placement due to an undiagnosed disability. Parents and guardians can request an assessment if they believe their student's conduct substantially relates to an undiagnosed disability.
School districts must assess students who may have disabilities. Families can request an evaluation as long as their child hasn't graduated from high school.
There's an overlap between disabilities and school discipline, and the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help. From initial diagnosis to ensuring effective accommodations and support, we work with families to protect children from disability-related disciplinary action.
Protect Your Student's Rights
DAEP placements can serve a positive purpose, and some students do benefit from them. Overly severe or unjustified DAEP placements, however, can have a long-term negative impact on a student's education and future.
As a parent or guardian, you may be unsure about the best way to handle your student's DAEP placement. You may agree that your student made a mistake but disagree with the school's response. Students can be unfairly singled out, or a school may not have considered relevant evidence.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help. We work with our clients in Brownsville and throughout Texas to protect their student's right to an education. If your student is either in a DAEP placement or facing the possibility of a placement, call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
