Keller ISD has laid out policy after policy with the new opportunities that come with being a District of Innovation (DOI). Many gathered together in separate committees to look at issues within the district and came up with solutions that would benefit both students and teachers. The two issues that will be discussed in this article regard DAEP and the current limitations on suspension.
DAEP
DAEP is designed as a disciplinary placement for students — but current problems prove that it lacks the efficiency needed for a student’s education. One such problem is that current rules for DAEP state that the students setting must be different from their regular classroom. This means that the student may be moved to a different classroom on or off campus, the latter for Keller ISD students. The problem with this lies within getting students to a new facility and getting their right schoolwork there as well. The students’ normal teachers are not able to help them, rather they send the students work to do while they are away.
Keller ISD General Legal Council, Amanda Bigbee, sat down with Talon reporters and gave her input on DAEP.
“The DOI Portion plan for DAEP has been written, however the policies have not been drafted yet. DAEP is actually the next set we plan to work on,” states Bigbee.
Once the policies have been drafted, readers will be able to find them on the Keller ISD website through this link: http://www.kellerisd.net/district/DOI/Pages/default.aspx . However Bigbee was able to give insight on what is planned for DAEP.
“DAEP for the most part will run exactly as it has always run. There will still be another facility- but we are trying to write in a bit of wiggle room for certain classes that a student would need to graduate since some classes are very difficult to replicate at the DAEP facility.” says Bigbee, “Based on certain cases, we plan to write in where students can return to their regular class — as long as it is needed to graduate — and then return to DAEP. But for the vast majority of students and instances, DAEP will run exactly as it has always run.”
Despite this case by case basis, members working on the DOI wants to ensure that students do get the same quality education that they would receive in class and are able to gain all the credits needed to graduate.
“The current process won’t change, since it does ensure that students do get their current course work and the same quality of education while at the separate facility. Traditionally, students grades go up while at DAEP since it is a highly focused environment, so we are pretty confident that they are getting great education while there.” states Bigbee, “It is just a matter of the classes that you can’t replicate, so the changes will be made to give administration a bit of freedom in order to complete those necessary courses.”
Limits on Suspensions
Keller ISD currently has a limitation of three days on suspension. Under the DOI, it is hoped to extend the limitation to the maximum number of days possible before a student must be sent to DAEP. This plan will include both in and out of school suspension. The committee hopes to make this change over DAEP in order to keep students closer to their normal educators.
“We need something between DAEP and this limitation — the goal of that specific committee was to seek out the flexibility needed to make that work.” says Bigbee, “We need a better range of how discipline can be done rather than just those two options.”
Once suspension policies are in place, committee members hope that Keller ISD students will have all the benefits necessary to complete their education while still being disciplined as needed.