Improve Disciplinary Procedures Affecting Students with Disabilities

Goal: Students with disabilities in Texas should be able to learn in the least restrictive environment possible. They should not be removed from classrooms and put into Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) for minor infractions.

Problem: Students with disabilities are over represented in alternative educational settings. Though students with disabilities make up only about 11 percent of the school population, they are approximately 25 percent of the students in DAEPs. In some districts the percentage is much higher.

Recommendation: The Texas Legislature needs to take measures to reduce the number of students with disabilities who are removed from classrooms for disciplinary reason. (See specifics below)

Specific Recommendations for Change:

• Amending Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code to require school districts to first determine whether a student’s disability impaired his/her capacity to understand the wrongfulness of their conduct before removing the student to a DAEP for a violation of the Student Code of Conduct;
  • It is unfair to discipline a student because of his or her disability
• Requiring every school district to implement a system of positive behavior supports (PBS) and providing funding for training and implementation;
  • Research has shown that a school-wide approach using positive behavioral supports effectively increases appropriate behaviors of all students. PBS can ensure both a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities and provide a school-wide environment that is safe and conducive to learning for all students.
• Requiring school resource officers and other school-based police who enforce school discipline policies to participate in training developed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) that teaches de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to physical restraint when intervening with a student with a disability. The Legislature should allocate resources to TCLEOSE to develop this training;
  • This type of training is proven to help officers de-escalate situations involving individuals in crisis and helps to keep officers and students safe in these encounters. Training results in a more professional and effective response by law enforcement officers to students with disabilities.
• Adding to the state Performance Based Monitoring Intervention (PBMI) requirements, indicators that reflect the quality of education provided in alternative settings; and
  • Monitoring and accountability helps to ensure that students receive an appropriate education in an alternative educational setting.
• Requiring that school districts receive training and technical assistance for indicators related to students with disabilities being over represented in school disciplinary settings.
  • Providing technical assistance would help districts identify deficits in students’ educational plans regarding behavioral supports and assist schools to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based positive behavioral practices in order to decrease the number of students with disabilities referred to alternative placements due to behavior.

Background/Justification: Every Texas school district has one or more Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) for students who commit certain offenses. Some more serious offenses require mandatory DAEP placements; however, the majority of placements (75 percent) are discretionary.

Most students with disabilities are assigned to DEAPs for discretionary reasons. Typically, they have violated a school’s student code of conduct—offenses which could and should have been dealt with through the provision of positive behavior supports and teacher training. However, the option of DAEP placement has become too easy and too tempting for many school districts.

Since schools are allowed to develop their own codes of conduct, they have almost unlimited discretion to send students to DAEPs. Students with disabilities, especially those with an emotional/behavioral disability, too often end up in DAEPs for “serious and persistent misbehavior”.

School districts should significantly reduce the number of students with disabilities who are removed from regular classrooms and campuses to DAEPs for minor infractions that should have been handled by the school through the use of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS), effective Behavior Intervention Plans and adequate teacher training.