Texas — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- On suspension: "An out-of-school suspension under this section may not exceed three school days. An in-school suspension under this section is not subject to any time limit." (Sec. 37.005(b)) Longer removals run through placement in a disciplinary alternative education program (Sec. 37.006) or expulsion (Sec. 37.007). On emergency action: "This subchapter does not prevent the principal or the principal's designee from ordering the immediate expulsion of a student if the principal or the principal's designee reasonably believes that action is necessary to protect persons or property from imminent harm." (Sec. 37.019(b))
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- The decision-makers the statute names are district officers (the campus behavior coordinator, the principal, and the board of trustees or its designee), not a state office. On expulsion appeals: "If the decision to expel a student is made by the board's designee, the decision may be appealed to the board. The decision of the board may be appealed by trial de novo to a district court of the county in which the school district's central administrative office is located." (Sec. 37.009(f))
The Texas Education Agency's Student Discipline page prints the agency's address ("Texas Education Agency", "1701 N. Congress Avenue", "Austin, TX, 78701"), but no discipline-specific office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources reviewed; that absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Aug 29, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own statutes and pages quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Texas publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline: who may remove a student and how, the notice and hearing the statute requires, what continues during a removal, where the appeal routes run, and, because the statute assigns much of the detail to each district, a map of the questions answered only in a district's own student code of conduct. The fullest single statement is Education Code Chapter 37, Subchapter A. Texas's own vocabulary appears throughout: the student code of conduct, the campus behavior coordinator, the disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP), and the juvenile justice alternative education program (JJAEP). District codes of conduct add procedural detail this page does not carry; the delegation map below points at exactly those questions. Confirm applicability with the district and the agency. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
The framework, as the state writes it
Removal by teacher (Sec. 37.002). "A teacher may send a student to the campus behavior coordinator's office to maintain effective discipline in the classroom." A teacher may also remove a student from class, including a student who "repeatedly interferes with the teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in the class or with the ability of the student's classmates to learn;" or who "demonstrates behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or abusive toward the teacher, another adult, or another student; or" engages in bullying as the statute defines it.
Suspension (Sec. 37.005). "The principal or other appropriate administrator may suspend a student who engages in conduct identified in the student code of conduct" adopted under Sec. 37.001. The three-school-day limit on out-of-school suspension is quoted in the docket. For in-school suspension: "A school's principal or other appropriate administrator shall review the in-school suspension of a student under this section at least once every 10 school days after the date the suspension begins to evaluate the educational progress of the student".
Removal to a DAEP (Sec. 37.006). For conduct the statute lists, "a student shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program", subject to the conference requirements of Sec. 37.009(a).
Expulsion (Sec. 37.007). For the serious offenses the statute lists, "a student shall be expelled from a school if the student, on or off of school property:" engages in the enumerated conduct, subject to the hearing requirements of Sec. 37.009(f), quoted below.
Emergency placement or expulsion (Sec. 37.019). The statute permits immediate DAEP placement where the principal or designee "reasonably believes the student's behavior is so unruly, disruptive, or abusive that it seriously interferes with a teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in a class, with the ability of the student's classmates to learn, or with the operation of school or a school-sponsored activity." Immediate expulsion is quoted in the docket; the due process that follows is in the timelines below.
JJAEP (Sec. 37.011). "The juvenile board of a county with a population greater than 125,000 shall develop a juvenile justice alternative education program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department."
The Texas Education Agency publishes guidance on this framework: its Student Discipline page lists an "Overview of School Discipline for Parents (Published on August 12, 2025)" with a Spanish version, a "Student Removals Flowchart (Published on August 12, 2025)", and states that "TEA 2025-2026 Student Discipline – Chapter 37 Training is offered via TEALearn as a self-paced online course." (TEA, Student Discipline, retrieved Aug 29, 2026; the linked documents are listed on that page and their direct capture is pending)
The published process
- Notice and hearing before exclusion
- For removals to a DAEP, the statute requires a conference: "the campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall schedule a conference among the campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian of the student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any, and the student. At the conference, the student is entitled to written or oral notice of the reasons for the removal, an explanation of the basis for the removal, and an opportunity to respond to the reasons for the removal." (Sec. 37.009(a)) Before an expulsion, "the board or the board's designee must provide the student a hearing at which the student is afforded appropriate due process as required by the federal constitution and which the student's parent or guardian is invited, in writing, to attend. At the hearing, the student is entitled to be represented by the student's parent or guardian or another adult who can provide guidance to the student and who is not an employee of the school district." (Sec. 37.009(f))
- Services during exclusion
- During any suspension, "A school district shall provide to a student during the period of the student's suspension under this section, regardless of whether the student is placed in in-school or out-of-school suspension, an alternative means of receiving all course work provided in the classes in the foundation curriculum" (Sec. 37.005(e)), and "The district must provide at least one option for receiving the course work that does not require the use of the Internet." For DAEP placements: "A school district shall offer a student removed to a disciplinary alternative education program an opportunity to complete coursework before the beginning of the next school year." (Sec. 37.008(l)) The statute also requires notice of that obligation: "A school district shall provide the parents of a student removed to a disciplinary alternative education program with written notice of the district's obligation under Subsection (l) to provide the student with an opportunity to complete coursework required for graduation." (Sec. 37.008(l-1))
- The record made, and the appeal route
- After a conference or hearing, "The board or the board's designee shall deliver to the student and the student's parent or guardian a copy of the order placing the student in a disciplinary alternative education program" or expelling the student. (Sec. 37.009(g)) For DAEP placements, where district policy provides an appeal, "the decision of the board or the board's designee is final and may not be appealed." (Sec. 37.009(a)) For placements extending beyond 60 days or the next grading period, "a student's parent or guardian is entitled to notice of and an opportunity to participate in a proceeding before the board of trustees of the school district or the board's designee, as provided by policy of the board of trustees of the district. Any decision of the board or the board's designee under this subsection is final and may not be appealed." (Sec. 37.009(b)) For expulsions, the appeal to the board and then by trial de novo to district court is quoted in the docket.
- If the student has an IEP or Section 504 plan
- The disability layer (evaluations, the ARD committee, manifestation determination, services during removal, and the dispute routes) lives on this site's Texas special education page. The discipline statute itself states: "If the student subject to the emergency placement or expulsion is a student with disabilities who receives special education services, the emergency placement or expulsion is subject to federal law and regulations and must be consistent with the consequences that would apply under this subchapter to a student without a disability." (Sec. 37.019(c))
The four rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state's own statutes, or record that a question is not answered in them.
Timelines, as stated in the sources
All quoted; none calculated. From Education Code Chapter 37 as retrieved Aug 29, 2026.
On the conference after a removal: "Not later than the third class day after the day on which a student is removed from class by the teacher" or by an administrator, the campus behavior coordinator shall schedule the conference quoted above. (Sec. 37.009(a))
On in-school suspension review: at least once "every 10 school days after the date the suspension begins". (Sec. 37.005(b-1))
On longer DAEP placements: "If a student's placement in a disciplinary alternative education program is to extend beyond 60 days or the end of the next grading period, whichever is earlier," the board-proceeding right quoted above applies. (Sec. 37.009(b))
On periodic review of a DAEP placement: "A student placed in a disciplinary alternative education program shall be provided a review of the student's status, including a review of the student's academic status, by the board's designee at intervals not to exceed 120 days." (Sec. 37.009(e))
On the length of an expulsion: "The period of an expulsion may not exceed one year unless, after a review, the district determines that:" the student is a threat to safety or extended placement is in the student's best interest, as the statute states them. (Sec. 37.009(h))
On emergency actions: "At the time of an emergency placement or expulsion, the student shall be given oral notice of the reason for the action." Then, "Within a reasonable time after the emergency placement or expulsion, but not later than the 10th day after the date of the placement or expulsion, the student shall be accorded the appropriate due process" of Sec. 37.009. (Sec. 37.019(c))
On delivery of the order to the juvenile court: "Not later than the second business day after the date a hearing is held" the board or designee shall deliver a copy of the order and required information to the juvenile court's authorized officer. (Sec. 37.010(a))
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the district, the agency, and their processes to determine.
Assigned to district policy by the quoted provision
The statute writes the frame and expressly hands the detail to each district's board. Each entry below is a question a district's own documents answer, with the delegating text quoted. No district's code of conduct is captured or quoted here.
The student code of conduct itself. Each board of trustees shall "adopt a student code of conduct for the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for review at the office of the campus principal." (Sec. 37.001(a))
Which conduct triggers which removal. The code of conduct must "specify the circumstances, in accordance with this subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom, campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or vehicle owned or operated by the district;" (Sec. 37.001(a)(1)) and must outline the conditions for suspension and expulsion. (Sec. 37.001(a)(3))
How long a removal runs. The code of conduct must "provide guidelines for setting the length of a term of:" a DAEP removal and an expulsion. (Sec. 37.001(a)(5))
How parents are notified. The code of conduct must "address the notification of a student's parent or guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary alternative education program, or expulsion;" (Sec. 37.001(a)(6))
Whether a DAEP placement can be appealed at all. "If school district policy allows a student to appeal to the board of trustees or the board's designee a decision of the campus behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator," the statute makes the outcome final; whether that appeal exists is the district's policy. (Sec. 37.009(a)) The proceeding for longer placements likewise runs "as provided by policy of the board of trustees of the district." (Sec. 37.009(b))
Parental involvement in placements. The code of conduct must "include a statement regarding whether the board has adopted a policy for parental involvement in school disciplinary placements" under Sec. 37.0014. (Sec. 37.001(a)(10))
Records access, as stated in the sources
From Education Code Chapter 26 (Parental Rights and Responsibilities, retrieved Aug 29, 2026): "A parent is entitled to access to all written records of a school district concerning the parent's child, including:" a list that names "disciplinary records;" among them. (Sec. 26.004(b)) A parent is also entitled to "full information regarding the school activities of a parent's child". (Sec. 26.008(a)) Expungement or removal of discipline records: not stated in the sources reviewed (Chapters 37 and 26 and the TEA Student Discipline page were searched); district policies may address it. Federal records rights under FERPA are not restated here.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Education Code Chapter 37 (Discipline; Law and Order) | statutes.capitol.texas.gov | site states current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025; retrieved Aug 29, 2026 |
| Education Code Chapter 26 (Parental Rights and Responsibilities) | statutes.capitol.texas.gov | same currency statement; retrieved Aug 29, 2026 |
| Student Discipline (TEA overview page) | tea.texas.gov | no page date published; retrieved Aug 29, 2026 |
| Overview of School Discipline for Parents (PDF, English and Spanish) | listed on the TEA page | page states published August 12, 2025; capture pending |
| Student Removals Flowchart (PDF) | listed on the TEA page | page states published August 12, 2025; capture pending |
| 19 TAC Chapter 103 (commissioner and SBOE rules on discipline, incl. §103.1203) | cited on the TEA page | capture pending |
| District student codes of conduct | each district, per Sec. 37.001 | never captured; see the delegation map |
Change log
Aug 29, 2026 · Page created (discipline-layer pilot). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/texas-discipline.json: Education Code Chapters 37 and 26 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov) and TEA's Student Discipline page. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) statutes.capitol.texas.gov serves an application shell to every non-browser transport (curl and the session fetcher both receive the shell with no statute text), so both chapters were captured from the rendered page under the recipe's chrome transport, reassembled from slices and verified against a browser-computed SHA-256 before extraction; (2) the capture records each statutory cross-reference's URL in parentheses after its link text, so quotations are split around those insertions rather than bridged; (3) the TEA page publishes no page date; (4) no discipline-specific office, phone, or email for parents appears in the sources reviewed: the statute's decision-makers are district officers; (5) expungement of discipline records is not stated in the chapters reviewed. Capture pending: the TEA parent overview PDF (English and Spanish), the student removals flowchart, and 19 TAC Chapter 103. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-29. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.