In Texas, K-12 students may end up in an alternative education program known as disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) placement. A type of disciplinary action, these programs remove students from their normal school routine.
Some students may benefit from a DAEP placement. Others may find that it negatively affects their education, and unfortunately, mistakes can happen. Students may be incorrectly placed in a DAEP or face overly harsh placement lengths.
When determining a DAEP placement, schools may fail to consider surrounding events or information. They may ignore the role a student's disability played in their misconduct. Or they may be trying to make an example out of a student. Parents or guardians may agree that a student misbehaved but disagree with the DAEP placement.
The good news is that students and their families have options to contest a DAEP placement. These placements can have a significant impact on a student's education.
If your student is in or is facing a DAEP placement, the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm is here to assist you. We work with students and families in the Clear Lake area and throughout Texas. We focus on helping our clients find solutions that protect their student's education and future. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
What's a DAEP?
Texas started disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs) in the 1990s. The purpose of DAEPs is to give schools another tool for addressing student misconduct.
All Texas school districts must have a DAEP, although they can partner with another school district to share DAEP resources. All DAEPS:
- Must be physically located somewhere other than a student's regular classroom
- Can be in a different location or building than a student's regular school
- Must separate students placed in DAEP from other students
- Have instruction that focuses on English, math, science, history, and self-discipline
- Support students' educational and behavioral needs
- Provide students with supervision and counseling
- Employ teachers who meet Texas's certification requirements
Clear Creek Independent School District
Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) serves over 40,000 students, and its primary district office is in League City. Its boundaries cover the Clear Lake area as well as parts of the Houston metropolitan area.
Clear Creek ISD serves the following communities:
- Clear Lake Shores
- El Lago
- Kemah
- Nassau Bay
- Seabrook
- Taylor Lake Village
- Webster
The district also covers students in some unincorporated sections of Harris County and Galveston County, as well as parts of:
- Friendswood
- Houston
- League City
- Pasadena
- Pearland
Clear Creek ISD publishes policies in both a code of conduct and the student handbook. When there are differences between the two, the code of conduct controls.
Some students in DAEP placements may attend Clear Path Alternative School. The district highlights that students attending Clear Path get more one-on-one instruction with the goal of helping students get back on track.
The district also makes public its education requirements for students in DAEP placements. The guide divides students into intermediate and high school groups.
Getting Help
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm has four offices in Texas. Our Houston office is the closest office for Clear Creek ISD students and families.
Our team combines our knowledge of federal and Texas laws with an understanding of what makes each school district unique. We assist families through Texas with educational issues, meaning we know how different schools and programs compare to Clear Creek ISD programs and services.
Types of Placements
Texas law requires school districts to have two types of DAEP placements: mandatory and discretionary. With a mandatory placement, a student must be placed into a DAEP, although Clear Creek ISD staff has discretion with the length of placement.
With a discretionary placement, students may be placed in A DAEP. This flexibility can be good and bad for students.
For DAEP placements, Clear Creek ISD divides students into two age groups. Students in kindergarten through Grade 5 are in the elementary group and cannot be placed with students from other DAEP groups. Students in Grades 6 to 12 are part of the secondary group.
Mandatory DAEP Placements
Certain types of conduct result in mandatory DAEP placements. The Clear Creek ISD lists conduct that results in mandatory DAEP placements, such as:
- A student who is involved in a false report or alarm or a terrorist threat involving a public school
- A student commits one or more of the following offenses when within 300 feet of school property or while attending a school event:
- Assault that involves bodily injury
- Conduct 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 rather than DAEP placement
- Public lewdness or indecent exposure
- Harassment
- Retaliates against a school staff member or volunteer
- A student between six and nine years of age who commits an expellable offense
- A student under the age of six who commits a federal firearms violation
- In some situations, a student who commits aggravated robbery or certain felonies
- A student is a registered sex offender and under court supervision
When Clear Creek ISD has evidence that a student engaged in any of this conduct, the district must place the student in a DAEP. What may come into question is how long a student is placed in a DAEP.
Discretionary DAEP Placements
Discretionary placements mean a student's behavior or conduct may result in a DAEP placement but doesn't have to result in a DAEP placement. This flexibility may be good or bad for students, and families should make sure their school has consistent policies for discretionary DAEP placements to ensure no student is unfairly singled out.
Both Texas law and the Clear Creek ISD Code of Conduct list violations that may result in a discretionary placement. Clear Creek ISD lists the following misconduct that falls into the discretionary category. Examples include:
- Abusing a student's legal prescription for drugs, including giving it to other students
- Taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs at school in a way that violates Clear Creek policy
- Committing or assisting in a non-felony robbery or theft
- Participating in non-felony vandalism or criminal mischief
- Possessing, circulating, or downloading porn
- Being involved in gang activity
A student's actions occurring off school property or outside of school events don't exempt them from a DAEP placement. In these circumstances, a DAEP placement may result if school staff believes the student poses a threat to campus safety or would negatively affect normal school activities, including other students learning.
DAEP placements aren't the only option for disciplinary action. Even if parents agree that a student violated school policy, there are other disciplinary options besides DAEP placements. Discretionary placements can give schools more latitude in how a student is disciplined.
Emergency Placements
Clear Creek allows for emergency DAEP placements. These occur when a student is behaving in an unruly, disruptive, or abusive way, and the student's behavior is significantly interfering with classroom activities or school operations.
School staff must only provide a verbal reason for the removal. The school will then have ten days to follow Clear Creek's normal DAEP process, including conducting a conference.
Emergency placement must comply with federal and state disability laws. If you believe your student's school violated laws or policy with an emergency removal, contact the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm.
Length of Placement
Clear Creek ISD divides the length of placement decisions into two age group categories. The first group is kindergarten to Grade 5, and the older group is Grades 6 to 12.
For both groups, a student's principal should consider the following questions when determining DAEP placement length:
- How serious was the offense?
- What is the student's disciplinary record?
- How old is the student?
- Did the student act in self-defense?
- What was the student's attitude?
- How did the student's conduct affect the school environment?
Elementary Placement
For the younger group, placements are classified as minimum, normal, and maximum. The minimum placement is ten days. The normal placement is thirty days, and the maximum placement is until the end of the semester and, in some cases, into the next semester.
Secondary Placement
For older students, the minimum placement is thirty days. The maximum placement is until the end of the school year. If the student's misconduct occurs in the last nine weeks of a school year, their placement may extend into the following school year.
Some serious offenses have placement lengths governed by the Texas Education Code. In these situations, school officials must follow the guidelines set out in Texas law.
Long-Term Placements
Students may be placed in a DAEP for more than one year or over multiple school years. Clear Creek ISD may place a student in a DAEP for longer than one year if that student is a threat to a school community's safety.
When misconduct occurs toward the end of one school year, a placement may extend into the next school year. In general, misconduct that occurs in the last nine weeks of a semester may carry over to the next semester or school year.
DAEP Considerations
For both mandatory and discretionary placements, a school's assistant principal should consider if any of the following mitigating factors are relevant to a student's case. In some situations, the information gained from these considerations may determine if a student is placed in a DAEP.
The Clear Creek ISD Code of Conduct lists the following as potentially mitigating factors for a DAEP placement:
- Was a student acting in self-defense?
- Did the student have the intent (or lack of intent) when they engaged in the alleged conduct?
- Does the student have a disciplinary record or history?
- Does the student have:
- An eligible disability under federal or state law?
- If yes, does that disability substantially impair the student's ability to understand their conduct and why it was wrong?
- Is the student currently homeless?
- Is the student in foster care, meaning they're under a conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services?
Families shouldn't assume school districts will automatically consider these questions or have the evidence or information needed to fully answer these questions.
Appeals
Families may appeal a DAEP placement decision with the student's school principal. Parents or guardians must submit a written letter of appeal within two working days of receiving the order of removal. During the appeal, the student will report to the DAEP.
Parents and guardians may also appeal the principal's decision. To do this, they must submit a written letter of appeal to the Clear Creek ISD assistant superintendent within two days of receiving the order of removal.
As Clear Creek ISD has multiple assistant superintendents, families should confirm which superintendent is responsible for the appeal. This information should be easily accessible via either their student's school or district offices.
The assistant superintendent's decision is final. Clear Creek ISD emphasizes that the district doesn't pause disciplinary action during an appeal.
Students with Disabilities and DAEPs at Clear Creek ISD
When a student has a disability, the disciplinary process may be slightly different. Clear Creek ISD requires schools to conduct a meeting with the student's Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee. The purpose of this meeting is to undertake a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). The MDR should focus on two questions:
- Did a student's disability cause the student's conduct or have a direct and substantial relationship to their conduct?
- Was the student's conduct the result of the school's failure to follow the student's IEP?
In general, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, schools 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 the answer to both questions is no, Clear Creek ISD can discipline a student with disabilities in a manner consistent with how the district would discipline a student without disabilities. All disciplinary action must align with the district's code of conduct.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has a template for a decision for a special education due process hearing. This document uses Clear Creek ISD as the school district and can be a useful resource for parents and students ahead of any meetings or hearings.
Regardless of the outcome, a student with disabilities who is in a DAEP placement or other disciplinary action doesn't lose their right to special education services and accommodations. Clear Creek ISD must continue to provide support, although the district can provide different services and accommodations than what a student usually receives.
For students with disabilities, the disciplinary process can be complex. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm helps our clients understand the process and how to protect their student's right to an education free from discrimination.
Protect Your Student's Rights
Even if a parent or guardian agrees that their student's action should result in disciplinary action, they may disagree with a school's decisions. DAEP placements are serious, and they can have significant implications for a student's education.
A student doesn't lose their rights because they're accused of misconduct. Navigating how to contest a DAEP placement can seem overwhelming.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help. We work with our families in the Clear County area and throughout Texas to make the DAEP process understandable. We support our clients and help them protect their students' futures and educations. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.
