May 2023 Dallas ISD trustee meeting. Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD.
Recent state legislation inspired several votes during the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 24, impacting punishments for students caught carrying e-cigarettes on or around DISD campuses and the state requirement to have armed guards at all schools.
A vote to amend the Student Code of Conduct complied with recently passed Texas House Bill 114 (HB114), which states that any student caught with a vape device on or within 300-feet of school property, or at a school sanctioned event, will be placed in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP).
In the new procedure, a first offense will be considered a Level III Mandatory Placement, and the student will be required to attend a five-day substance abuse intervention program while at the DAEP campus. A parent will be required to attend a half-day orientation in order for the student’s program to be completed, at which point they will be allowed to return to their home campus.
On a second offense, students will serve a full placement at the DAEP campus, receive additional services for substance intervention support and a parent will be required to participate in a substance abuse informational session.
“DAEP team members will facilitate the intake or orientation process for the student and parents to have a smooth transition to promote positive student outcomes,” a statement from Dallas ISD says.
In a second vote, the board unanimously approved a campus security plan that does not require armed security to be stationed at every campus, as is mandated in the recently passed Texas House Bill 3 (HB3).
The trustees claimed a good cause exemption for the mandate, stating that the district is not able to acquire the necessary funding or staffing to have an armed guard on every DISD campus.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the district would need to staff 160 additional security positions to comply with the mandate, with elementary schools representing the largest portion of unguarded schools currently.
The new security plan was discussed in a closed session, and details were not shared before the vote.
