Each year, Texas sends more than 100,000 students to its system of disciplinary schools, called disciplinary alternative education programs. When the state Legislature created DAEPs in 1995, amid growing national concern over school violence, they were intended as an additional measure to the suspension of students who committed serious offenses.
But since then, the state legislature has gradually expanded the reasons why a student can — or should — be sent to a DAEP, according to a Hechinger Report investigation. Today, students are sent to schools, for weeks, and in some cases months, for crimes such as vaping, making threats, bringing a weapon on campus, or getting in trouble with law enforcement off campus.
Educators say alternative schools are an important tool for managing serious student misbehavior and keeping teachers and other students safe. But critics say there is too little control over how schools operate and why students end up there. They also question the quality of education students receive in DAEPs.
Our investigation into these schools revealed:
Students may be sent to DAEPs for minor behavior. A review of records from dozens of school districts showed that students were sent to DAEPs for infractions including insubordination, attendance problems, dress code violations and profanity.
These bad behaviors are not explicitly listed in state law as reasons to send a student to alternative programs. But districts can use their discretion for any behavior that violates their local code of conduct. In the 2024-25 school year, for example, nearly 36,000 DAEP placements were made due to code of conduct violations, compared to fewer than 12,000 for assault.
Critics say lawmakers took a step toward codifying that approach into law last year when it passed a bill explicitly allowing districts to send children to DAEPs in the event of disruptions.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data(`datawrapper-height`)!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data(`datawrapper-height`))for(var r=0,i;i=t(r);r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data(`datawrapper-height`)(n)+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Families are rarely successful in canceling DAEP placements. State law requires that before a student is sent to a DAEP, a hearing must be held to evaluate the evidence and mitigating factors. The hearing, however, is handled by the school district, rather than a neutral party, and a district employee makes the final decision.
Families do not always have the right to appeal to district leaders or the school board. The law also does not provide for the possibility of filing a complaint with the Texas Education Agency; courts, for their part, have historically ruled that they do not have jurisdiction in this area.
DAEPs tend to be extremely strict environments and many students experience difficulties there. Students in these programs are often prohibited from speaking in class without permission, according to our analysis of textbooks from 75 districts. When moving from one class to another, they usually have to walk in single file – sometimes even with their hands behind their backs. Strict dress codes prohibit facial hair, jewelry and sandals. Additional days may be added to an internship if a student violates the rules.
Because students in different courses and grades move in and out of DAEPs throughout the year, the majority of schoolwork is completed independently, often on computers. For students on long-term internships, this can mean going months without live instruction. Research suggests that students assigned to DAEPs are less likely to graduate from school on time; only 44 percent of ninth graders placed in a DAEP graduated four years later, compared to 84 percent of students who received no discipline and 70 percent who were suspended in school.
Certain groups of students are over-represented in DAEPs. In the 2024-2025 school year, Black students made up about 13% of all Texas students, but made up 22% of all students placed in DAEPs. Men are also given this punishment at a higher rate than women, accounting for about two-thirds of all placements.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data(`datawrapper-height`)!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data(`datawrapper-height`))for(var r=0,i;i=t(r);r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data(`datawrapper-height`)(n)+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
State law requires educators to consider a student’s disability status before sending them to an alternative school. Despite this, special education students accounted for nearly a quarter of these placements, despite making up only 17 percent of the total student population. Once in a DAEP, students can get days added to their internship if they do not follow all of the school’s rules. Experts say students with disabilities often have difficulty adjusting to the rigid structure and end up staying there longer.
Read the full story.
Share your experiences with school discipline with us at hechingertips@proton.me.
Contact Investigations Editor Sarah Butrymowicz at butrymowicz@hechingerreport.org or on Signal: @sbutry.04.
This story about DAEP schools was produced by The Hechinger reportan independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register for the Hechinger newsletter.
The article Four Takeaways from Our Investigation of Texas Disciplinary Schools appeared first in the Hechinger Report.
