DAEP Discipline Tracking for Texas Campuses

What DAEP Tracking Involves Under TEC Chapter 37

Every Texas school district that operates a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program must track student placements from initial referral through re-entry. This is not optional — it is codified in Texas Education Code §37.008, which outlines the requirements for DAEP operation, and §37.006 and §37.007, which define the offenses that trigger mandatory and discretionary removals.

At its core, DAEP tracking means documenting:

• The referral event — the incident, the offense code aligned to TEC Chapter 37, the date, the staff member who made the referral, and any witness statements
• Due process steps — parent notification, the student's opportunity for a hearing, and the written placement order
• SPED and Section 504 compliance — whether a manifestation determination review (MDR) was conducted within 10 school days, and the outcome
• Placement duration and conditions — start date, expected end date, any extensions, and the educational services provided during placement
• Transition and re-entry — the transition plan required before the student returns to the home campus, including academic recovery and behavioral supports
• PEIMS reporting codes — the discipline action reason codes that must be submitted to TEA

Compliance Requirements You Cannot Afford to Miss

TEA does not audit every district every year, but when they do, discipline records are a common focus area. Here are the requirements that cause the most compliance findings:

Manifestation Determination Reviews

Under TEC §37.004 and federal IDEA requirements, any student receiving special education services must have an MDR before a removal that constitutes a change of placement. For DAEP placements, this means the ARD committee must convene within 10 school days of the decision to place. If the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the student's disability, the placement cannot proceed as a standard DAEP removal.

Section 504 students have parallel protections. The 504 committee must conduct its own manifestation review. Districts that skip this step — or conduct it late — face due process complaints and OCR investigations.

Parent Notification and Due Process

TEC §37.009 requires written notice to parents before a student is removed to a DAEP. The notice must include the reason for removal, the length of placement, and information about the appeals process. Many districts send the notice but fail to document that it was sent — which, from an audit perspective, is the same as not sending it at all.

PEIMS Discipline Reporting

Every DAEP placement must be reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) with accurate offense codes, action codes, and dates. Errors in PEIMS discipline data can trigger TEA data quality reviews and, in severe cases, sanctions under the state accountability system.

Five Common DAEP Tracking Mistakes

1. Relying on spreadsheets for compliance deadlines. A shared Google Sheet cannot send you an alert when an MDR is due in 3 days. Deadlines slip, and by the time someone notices, the district is out of compliance.
2. Tracking the placement but not the re-entry. TEC §37.023 requires transition services. Many districts document the front end of the process (referral, hearing, placement) but have no system for tracking re-entry plans, follow-up meetings, or academic recovery.
3. Disconnecting discipline data from SPED records. When the discipline coordinator does not have visibility into a student's SPED or 504 status, MDRs get missed entirely. This is the single most common finding in TEA special education monitoring.
4. Inconsistent offense coding. Different administrators code the same behavior under different TEC sections, which creates PEIMS discrepancies and makes it impossible to analyze discipline trends accurately.
5. No audit trail. If you cannot show when a parent was notified, when the MDR was held, and who made the placement decision, you do not have documentation — you have liability.

What a Good DAEP Tracking System Looks Like

An effective system does not just store data — it enforces process. Here is what to look for:

• SPED/504 blocking: The system should prevent a placement from proceeding if a required MDR has not been completed. This is a guardrail, not a suggestion.
• Automated deadline alerts: When a student is placed, the system should calculate the MDR deadline, parent notification window, and transition plan due date — and alert the responsible staff.
• Offense code alignment: Drop-down menus tied to actual TEC §37.006, §37.007, and §37.011 offense categories, so coding is consistent across the district.
• Transition plan workflow: A structured process for documenting the re-entry plan, assigning responsibilities, and tracking completion.
• PEIMS export: One-click generation of discipline data in the format TEA requires, with built-in validation to catch errors before submission.
• Role-based access: Administrators, counselors, SPED coordinators, and teachers each see what they need — no more, no less.

Waypoint is our DAEP compliance platform built specifically for Texas districts. It handles all of the tracking requirements described above — including SPED blocking, automated alerts, and PEIMS export. Learn more about Waypoint.