Student Code of Conduct

This section includes two categories of serious offenses for which the Education Code provides unique procedures and specific corrective actions.

Registered Sex Offenders

Upon receiving notification in accordance with state law that a student is currently required to register as a sex offender, the administration must remove the student from the regular classroom and determine appropriate placement unless the court orders JJAEP placement.

If the student is under any form of court supervision, including probation, community supervision or parole, the placement will be in either DAEP or JJAEP for at least one semester.

If the student is not under any form of court supervision, the placement may be in DAEP or JJAEP for one semester or the placement may be in a regular classroom. The placement may not be in the regular classroom if the Board or its designee determines that the student’s presence:

Threatens the safety of other students or teachers;
Will be detrimental to the educational process, or;
Is not in the best interests of the district’s students.

Review Committee

At the end of the first semester of a student’s placement in an alternative educational setting and before the beginning of each school year for which the student remains in an alternative placement, the district shall convene a committee, in accordance with state law, to review the student’s placement. The committee will recommend whether the student should return to the regular classroom or remain in the placement. Absent a special finding, the Board or its designee must follow the committee’s recommendation.

The placement review of a student with a disability who receives special education services must be made by the IEP committee.

Newly Enrolled Student

If a student enrolls in the district during a mandatory placement as a registered sex offender, the district may count any time already spent by the student in a placement or may require an additional semester in an alternative placement without conducting a review of the placement.

Appeal

A student or the student’s parent may appeal the placement by requesting a conference between the Board or its designee, the student and the student’s parent. The conference is limited to the factual question of whether the student is required to register as a sex offender. Any decision of the Board or its designee under this section is final and may not be appealed.

Weapon-Free School Zones

The Texas Penal Code extends the penalties for possession of a weapon on school property to “any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or education institution is being conducted.” The Texas Penal Code also increases punishment for an offense involving a weapon if it is shown that the individual committed the offense in a place that the person knew was within 300 feet of the school premises; or a college or university; on a school bus; or on premises where an official school function, a UIL activity or a school-sponsored extracurricular activity is taking place.

Removal by a Teacher (Texas Education Code, Chapter 37.002)

A teacher may send a student to the principal’s office to maintain effective discipline in the classroom. The principal shall respond by employing appropriate discipline management techniques consistent with the Student Code of Conduct.

A teacher may initiate a formal removal from class if:

A student’s behavior repeatedly interferes with the teacher’s ability to teach the class or with other students’ ability to learn.
A student demonstrates behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or abusive toward the teacher, another adult, or another student in the classroom.
A student engages in conduct that constitutes bullying, as defined by Education Code 37.0832.

A teacher, CBC, or other appropriate administrator shall notify a parent or person standing in parental relation to the student of the formal removal. A teacher may remove a student from class based on a single incident of behavior.

Within three school days of the formal removal, the CBC or appropriate administrator shall schedule a conference with the student’s parent, the student, the teacher who removed the student from class, and any other appropriate administrator.

At the conference, the CBC or appropriate administrator shall inform the student of the alleged misconduct and the proposed consequences. The student shall have an opportunity to respond to the allegations.

When a student is removed from the regular classroom by a teacher and a conference is pending, the CBC or other administrator may place the student in:

A teacher or administrator must remove a student from class if the student engages in behavior that under the Education Code requires or permits the student to be placed in a DAEP or expelled. When removing for those reasons, the procedures in the subsequent sections on DAEP or expulsion shall be followed.

A student who has been formally removed from class by a teacher for conduct against the teacher containing the elements of assault, aggravated assault, sexual assault, or aggravated sexual assault may not be returned to the teacher’s class without the teacher’s written consent.
A student who has been formally removed by a teacher for any other conduct may not be returned to the teacher’s class without the teacher’s written consent unless the placement review committee determines that the teacher’s class is the best or only alternative, and not later than the third class day after the day the student was removed from class, a conference in which the teacher was provided an opportunity to participate has been held. The student may not be returned to the teacher’s class unless the teacher provides written consent for the student’s return or a return to class plan has been prepared for that student.

A student may appeal the teacher’s removal of the student from class to the school’s placement review committee or the campus’s threat assessment and safe and supportive school team, in accordance with a district policy providing for such an appeal to be made to this team.