Most students prefer to stay out of trouble. Not everyone does that.
In recent years, more students in Texas have been removed from classrooms and sent to district-run disciplinary programs, where they may stay for weeks or even months, according to state discipline data.
The surge in children being sent to Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEP) follows the passage of new state laws aimed at banning e-cigarettes and an increase in student behavior problems post-pandemic. Although most school districts have seen an increase, not all districts are experiencing this trend equally.
In Texas, school districts can only suspend students who misbehave for up to three consecutive days. If a student continues to disrupt class or poses a danger to other students, they may be sent to DAEP to complete their education.
In these cases, students typically leave their home campus and are unable to return until their school district allows them to do so, sometimes spending weeks or even months away. The effectiveness of such programs is debated among educators, with some critics arguing that they impede students’ long-term growth.
State of the state as a whole
The number of Texas students sent to DAEP was relatively stable in the late 2010s, declined during the pandemic, and then skyrocketed over the past two years. Last school year, Texas enrolled 121,245 students, compared to 103,655 the year before.
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This increase may be part of a nationwide increase in student behavior problems since COVID-19. A 2022 survey by the National Center for Education Statistics found that just over 50% of U.S. public schools reported an increase in the number of incidents of student cheating compared to 2019, while about 30% reported that cheating was about the same. It was found that 5% of respondents said that the situation was worse than before the coronavirus infection. . (A small number of school leaders said they were unaware of the question or did not answer the question.)
But part of that increase is due to a new law that goes into effect in September 2023 that mandates that if a student is caught using e-cigarettes on campus or in a school-related activity, they will be automatically referred to DAEP. This may also be due to state laws. Previously, school districts could use their discretion to discipline students who smoked e-cigarettes.
The idea behind this law is to keep students away from addictive nicotine products. More than 1 in 10 Texas high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, according to a 2021 survey from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
District data
School district disciplinary practices have changed since the law went into effect. Some school districts, including Pasadena and Spring ISD, more than doubled the percentage of students sent to DAEP starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Meanwhile, Alief and Aldine ISDs saw a slight decrease in the percentage of students sent to DAEP.
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However, change doesn’t tell the whole story. Last year, spring saw the largest year-over-year increase in DAEP dropouts among the Houston area’s largest school districts, but previously spring DAEP had the lowest dropout rate in the region at just 1 in 100 students. did. Conversely, Aldine and Alief were two of the regions with the highest DAEP removal rates in 2022, but are now closer to the regional average.
Klein has the highest DAEP expulsion rate among Houston-area school districts sampled, with 1,600 of its roughly 57,000 students sent to alternative education programs last year.
Find your district
To better understand how school districts’ disciplinary practices have changed since the 2023 state law, check out our searchable database of DAEP termination rates by Texas school district. The statewide average is 2.5 DAEP removals per 100 students.
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Some school districts are not complying with the law as part of the Innovation District Plan, which allows school districts to waive portions of the Texas Education Act.
why is it important
State and local school boards must monitor programs to ensure students receive an education equivalent to their alma mater, but suspensions could negatively impact students’ academic performance in the future.
A 2021 study from the University of Texas at Austin found that students who were sent to DAEP once in ninth grade had a 44% graduation rate, compared to an 84% graduation rate for students who were not disciplined. . For students who were sent to DAEP multiple times, only one in four graduated within four years. (This study did not assess the extent to which DAEP placement changed the likelihood of graduation.)
The Texas Department of State Health Services has not yet released data on whether e-cigarette use among teens has decreased after the state law took effect. According to a CDC report, approximately 6% of middle and high school students nationwide will report using e-cigarettes in 2024, down from 10% in 2023.
thisarticleAt first houston landingPublished in and republished here under a Creative Commons license.
