Austin, Texas · K-12 discipline

Austin ISD DAEP Placements & Expulsions

How Austin Independent School District places students in its Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, how to appeal, and what happens at an expulsion hearing, taken from the district's own Student Code of Conduct and board policy.

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If your child is facing DAEP

What to do right now in Austin ISD

1Write down the date your child was removed from class. Under Austin ISD's code: When a student is removed from class for a DAEP offense, the CBC or another appropriate administrator must schedule a conference within 3 school days. The conference includes the student's parent and the student. If a teacher removed the student, the teacher is also included.
2Go to the conference and ask for the reasons in writing. Ask which section of the 2026-2027 Student Success Guide: Student Code of Conduct the school says applies, and whether the placement is mandatory or discretionary.
3Get a copy of the placement order and note its length. How long a student stays in DAEP depends on what the student needs. The longest stay is through the end of the school year. A longer stay is allowed only if the student is a threat to students or staff, or if a longer placement is in the student's best interest.
4If you disagree, appeal on time. The CBC's DAEP decision may be appealed to the Board or the Board's designee (a Discipline Office representative). Their decision is final. Deadline: The district must receive the appeal within 7 business days of the date of the removal notice.
5If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, ask the school about a manifestation determination review. Federal special education rules generally require one before a disciplinary removal of more than 10 school days.

Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

How DAEP placement works in Austin ISD

Governing document: 2026-2027 Student Success Guide: Student Code of Conduct. DAEP program: Secondary students go to the Alternative Learning Center. Elementary students go to the Elementary Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (EDAEP)..

How a placement is decided

The Campus Behavior Coordinator (CBC) or another appropriate administrator decides on DAEP removals.

The placement conference

When a student is removed from class for a DAEP offense, the CBC or another appropriate administrator must schedule a conference within 3 school days. The conference includes the student's parent and the student. If a teacher removed the student, the teacher is also included.

How long placements last

How long a student stays in DAEP depends on what the student needs. The longest stay is through the end of the school year. A longer stay is allowed only if the student is a threat to students or staff, or if a longer placement is in the student's best interest.

Reviews during placement

At least every 20 days, the student's CBC and DAEP staff review the student's attendance, grades, and behavior.

Appealing a DAEP placement in Austin ISD

How to appeal

The CBC's DAEP decision may be appealed to the Board or the Board's designee (a Discipline Office representative). Their decision is final.

Deadline

The district must receive the appeal within 7 business days of the date of the removal notice.

Expulsion in Austin ISD

How expulsion works

If a student is believed to have committed an offense that can lead to expulsion, the CBC or another appropriate administrator schedules a hearing within a reasonable time. The student's parent must be invited to the hearing in writing.

The expulsion hearing

At the hearing, the student may be represented by a parent or by another adult who can guide the student and is not a district employee.

Appealing an expulsion

If the Board's designee (the Discipline Office Representative) decides to expel the student, that decision may be appealed to the Board. The Board's decision may then be appealed to a District Court, which hears the case again from the start (trial de novo).

Where expelled students go

Students expelled by AISD and then put on probation by the Travis County Juvenile Court are ordered by the court to attend JJAEP, an alternative education program run by the court.

Key deadlines in Austin ISD discipline cases

⏱DAEP conference: must be scheduled within 3 school days
⏱DAEP appeal: the district must receive it within 7 business days of the date of the removal notice
⏱Expulsion appeal: the district must receive it within 7 business days of the date of the written decision
⏱DAEP review: the student's status is reviewed at least every 20 days
⏱Emergency expulsion: the student must get the required due process within 10 days after the emergency expulsion

Your child's rights in the process

✓At the DAEP conference, the student must be told the reasons for the removal, either out loud or in writing.
✓At the DAEP conference, the student must get an explanation of the basis for the removal and a chance to respond.
✓Before deciding on a DAEP placement, whether it is mandatory or discretionary, the CBC must consider the mitigating factors listed in the code.
✓The parent receives a copy of the DAEP placement order and information on how to request a special education evaluation.
✓After a DAEP placement, the student and parents receive information about the decision and how to appeal it.
✓At DAEP reviews, the student or parents may explain why they think the student should go back to their regular school.
✓At an expulsion hearing, the student may be represented by a parent or by another adult who is not a district employee.
✓At an expulsion hearing, the student may tell their side and present evidence and witnesses.
✓At an expulsion hearing, the student may question the witnesses the district calls.
✓The parent must be invited to the expulsion hearing in writing.
✓For students with disabilities, the administrator must tell parents about a removal decision that requires a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). Parents must also get a copy of the IDEA Notice of Procedural Safeguards or the Notice of Section 504 rights.

Austin ISD board policies that govern discipline

Texas districts publish these in their board policy manual. LOCAL policies are the district's own rules; LEGAL policies restate state and federal law.

§FO (LOCAL): Student Discipline
§FOC (LEGAL): cited as the reason a DAEP placement decision is final and may not be appealed (title not given in the code)
§FOD (LEGAL): cited for the expulsion appeal process (title not given in the code)
§FOCA (LEGAL) and FODA (LEGAL): cited for transition services when a student returns from a DAEP or JJAEP (titles not given in the code)
§FOF (LEGAL): cited for discipline of students with disabilities (title not given in the code)
§FNG (LOCAL): cited for appeals of bullying investigation outcomes (title not given in the code)

What is different about Austin ISD's process

→There are separate DAEPs by grade level. Secondary students go to the Alternative Learning Center and elementary students go to the EDAEP.
→The CBC and DAEP staff review each DAEP placement at least every 20 days.
→Students in a DAEP may not take part in any school activities at all.
→The Board of Trustees gives a Discipline Office Representative the authority to hold expulsion hearings and expel students.

Texas Education Code, Chapter 37

What Texas law requires in every district

The placement conference

Within 3 class days after a student is removed from class (by a teacher, or by the principal or another administrator for a DAEP placement), the campus behavior coordinator or another administrator must schedule a conference. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
The conference includes the campus behavior coordinator or another administrator, a parent or guardian, the teacher who removed the student (if any), and the student. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
At the conference, the student must be told the reasons for the removal, either in writing or out loud. The student must also get an explanation of why and a chance to respond. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
The student may not go back to the regular classroom until the conference is held. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))

The placement order

After the conference, the campus behavior coordinator orders the placement for a length of time consistent with the student code of conduct, after considering the required factors. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
If the length of the placement does not match the guidelines in the student code of conduct, the order must say so. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
A placement may not last more than 1 year unless, after a review, the district decides the student is a threat to the safety of other students or district employees. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(a))
The board or its designee must give the student and the parent or guardian a copy of the DAEP placement order. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(g))

Long placements

Some DAEP placements last longer than 60 days or past the end of the next grading period, whichever comes first. For these, the parent or guardian has a right to notice and a chance to take part in a proceeding before the school board or its designee. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(b))

Appealing a DAEP placement

District policy may allow a student to appeal the campus behavior coordinator's decision to the board or its designee. If so, the board's decision is final and cannot be appealed further. This does not apply to expulsions. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(b))

Reviews during placement

A student in DAEP must have their status reviewed, including academic status, by the board's designee at least every 120 days. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(e))
For a high school student, the board's designee and the parent or guardian must review progress toward graduation and set a specific graduation plan. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(e))
At the review, the student or parent or guardian must have a chance to argue for the student's return to the regular classroom or campus. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(e))

Expulsion hearings

Before a student can be expelled, the board or its designee must give the student a hearing with due process as required by the U.S. Constitution. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))
The parent or guardian must be invited to the hearing in writing. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))
At the hearing, the student may be represented by a parent or guardian, or by another adult who can guide the student and who is not a school district employee. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))
The district may hold the hearing even if no one attends for the student, as long as it made a good-faith effort to tell the student and parent or guardian the time and place. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))
Before expelling a student, the board must consider self-defense, the student's intent or lack of intent, and the student's disciplinary history. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))

Appealing an expulsion

If the board's designee made the expulsion decision, it can be appealed to the school board. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))
The board's decision can be appealed by trial de novo (a new trial) in a district court in the county where the school district's central office is located. (Tex. Educ. Code § 37.009(f))

Source: Texas Education Code, Chapter 37. Districts may add procedures, but not take away these protections.

Frequently asked questions: Austin ISD

How does Austin ISD decide on a DAEP placement?

The Campus Behavior Coordinator (CBC) or another appropriate administrator decides on DAEP removals.

When is the DAEP placement conference at Austin ISD?

How do I appeal a DAEP placement in Austin ISD?

The CBC's DAEP decision may be appealed to the Board or the Board's designee (a Discipline Office representative). Their decision is final. Deadline: The district must receive the appeal within 7 business days of the date of the removal notice.

How long do DAEP placements last in Austin ISD?

Can an Austin ISD expulsion be appealed?

How AdvocatED helps Austin ISD families

K-12 Discipline & DAEP Advocacy

Preparing for the placement conference, building the appeal, and protecting your child's record.

Expulsion Hearing Preparation

What to request before the hearing, how to present your child's side, and how appeals work.

Other Texas districts

Dallas Independent School DistrictDallas Fort Bend Independent School DistrictSugar Land Houston Independent School DistrictHouston

Sources

Every district-specific fact above was checked against the exact wording of these official Austin ISD documents on November 1, 2026. Codes of conduct change each school year, so confirm details in the version that applies to your child.

https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/family-support/Student-Success-Guide-2026-27-Eng.pdf

General information, not legal advice. AdvocatED is an education advocacy service, not a law firm.

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