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Table 1
Some school officials who make disciplinary
Days in Alternative Setting for Firearm decisions are unfamiliar with the Safe Schools Act
Violations, 1997-1998 School Year and its requirements. The Act prohibits expulsion
Average Number of Days of students younger than 10 years of age, except in
Assigned Attended cases involving firearms.2 However, Safe Schools
data showed that 212 students in kindergarten through
DAEP 82 63 third grade were expelled, although fewer than 5 of
JJAEP 233 90 these cases involved firearms. Of those expelled, the
Expelled without 74 59 majority were placed in alternative education
a placement programs. However, 36 percent were expelled with
Source: TEA's Safe Schools data as of April 1999 no placement, which means that young children were
denied an education during a critical learning phase.
(See Appendix 4 for placements by grade level.)
We provided TEA with a list of school districts that had expelled 76 of the 212
students. TEA contacted district officials who admitted miscoding the 76 students.
District officials then asked TEA in writing to correct the data. TEA accepted these
corrections without requiring documentation or physical verification.
This year, the Legislature amended the Act to prohibit elementary students from being
placed with non-elementary students in a DAEP. The Act also prohibits placing
students younger than six years old in such programs.
The Act also provides that students assigned to a DAEP must be separated from other
students who are not assigned to the program. For example, a DAEP and an in-school
suspension program must not be held in the same room. However, we learned from
on-site visits that DAEP and in-school suspension students are sometimes mixed.
The Act is complex, and school officials may need help from probation and
legal officials to determine proper action. An area that causes difficulty is
determining if a drug violation meets the definition of a felony. For example,
possessing marijuana is not a felony unless the amount is more than four ounces. For
this reason, TEA recommends that school districts consult with law enforcement
authorities when determining if a drug offense constitutes a felony.
State law places responsibility for training school officials on regional
Education Service Centers (Centers). TEA provides training to the Centers on the
Safe Schools Act and its requirements. However, TEA relies on the Centers to pass
on this information to school districts. School districts also have a role in educating
staff on the Act's requirements. For example, the 76th Legislature amended the
Education Code to require that school districts provide their staff training on the Safe
Schools Act and discipline strategies, including classroom management, district
discipline policies, and the local student code of conduct.
2 Federal law (Chapter 18 of the United States Code, Section 921) requires expulsion of a student who brings a
firearm to school. The student must be expelled for at least one year, but the law also allows school officials to
shorten the length of expulsion. Moreover, the district shall provide educational services to the expelled student in
an AEP if the student is younger than 10 years of age on the date of expulsion.
A REPORT ON
AUGUST 1999 SAFE SCHOOLS PROGRAMS PAGE 7
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Texas. Office of the State Auditor. A Report on Safe Schools Programs, report, August 1999; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth517651/m1/10/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.