TEXAS SAFE SCHOOL ACT
A Primer on the Texas Safe Schools Law July 2001 (Download Brochure, Acrobat PDF)
July 2005
Dear Colleague,
Thirteen years ago, the Texas Federation of Teachers launched its campaign for zero tolerance of violence on campus. The Texas Legislature responded in 1995 by
enacting tough laws that gave educators new tools for
responding to students who are violent, abusive, or
chronically disruptive. These laws give us a chance to make our schools safe and orderly, but laws must be
enforced.
This brochure gives you information you need to enforce the law. With this information, you should be able
to deal with most of the situations you will encounter if you
remove a violent or disruptive student from your class.
This law has had a major, positive impact. Since
enactment in 1995, the core provisions of the law have
been upheld by a unanimous federal appeals court and
have been kept intact by the legislature. The updated
information in this brochure reflects various changes made by lawmakers since 1995 that have not altered the
fundamentals of the law.
Enforcement of the Safe Schools Act will never be easy. We must all work to ensure that our schools are safe and orderly. TFT will continue to campaign for safe schools, and we will support our members when they act to enforce the rules.
Sincerely,
Linda Bridges, President
Texas Federation of Teachers
Introduction to the Safe Schools Act
The Safe Schools Act is contained in Chapter 37, Sections 37.001-37.021 of the Education Code.
Documentation is the key to successful use of this law. We have provided sample forms that we encourage you to use for this purpose. We also recommend that you discuss this law with an AFT staff member before putting it to use.
REMEMBER: THE LAW IS NOT SELF-ENFORCING. YOU MUST TAKE STEPS TO USE THE LAW AND INSIST THAT YOUR ADMINISTRATORS FOLLOW IT.
Basic Questions and Answers
1. Question: How does this state law affect local policy on student conduct?
Answer: Section 37.001(a) of the Education Code requires your local school district to adopt a student code of conduct. This local code cannot reduce teachers’ authority granted by state law to remove disruptive students. In case of any conflict between your local code of conduct and the provisions of this state law, the state law controls. The local code of conduct must comply with the state law concerning disciplinary removal of a student from a classroom, campus, or a disciplinary alternative education program; transfer of a student to a disciplinary alternative education program; and suspension or expulsion.
The local code must state whether any consideration in determining disciplinary placement will be given to the student’s intent, disciplinary history, or impaired mental capacity due to disability.
2. Question: What discipline tools are provided?
Answer: The Code allows a student’s removal from the regular classroom for serious disruption. It mandates removal of a student and placement in an alternative education program for more serious offenses like assault causing bodily injury.
For the gravest offenses—including aggravated assault and bringing guns and illegal knives to school—it mandates removal, expulsion, and referral to the juvenile justice system. (Note: Students under six cannot be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program, and students under ten cannot be expelled.)
The teacher who removes the student has a right to refuse that student’s return to the classroom. In certain cases (see questions 5 and 6) the teacher’s refusal can be overruled, but in some of the most serious cases, the teacher’s refusal cannot be overruled.
Discretionary Removal
3. Question: The law empowers teachers to remove a student from class for certain misconduct. What does this mean?
Answer: This section in the law might be called the “discretionary removal” provision, because the Code allows a teacher to remove a student
(1) “who has been documented by the
teacher to repeatedly interfere with the
teacher’s ability to communicate effec-
tively with the students in the class or
with the ability of the student’s class-
mates to learn;” OR
(2) “whose behavior the teacher determines
is so unruly, disruptive, or abusive that it
seriously 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.”
NOTE: To avoid misunderstanding when you remove a student from a class under this provision, you should specifically refer to your authority to remove a student immediately under Education Code Section 37.002. Otherwise, a principal may treat your action as a less serious form of discipline, allowing the principal wide discretion to “respond by employing appropriate discipline management techniques.” Use the sample letter for discretionary removal and the reporting form printed at the end of this brochure. Documentation of multiple incidents must be provided by the teacher to initiate removal properly under option (1) above. The prudent practice in any case is to provide full documentation of the incidents under option (1) or the incident under option (2) prompting you to initiate removal.
4. Question: What happens when the teacher invokes this law and removes a student who engages in the specified types of misconduct under this discretionary provision?
Answer: The student is immediately and automatically removed from the teacher’s class. The principal has the following options for deciding where that student will be placed:
· another regular classroom;
· in-school suspension;
· an alternative education program for student violators of discipline rules—on or off campus;
· three-day suspension from school.
5. Question: In cases involving discretionary removal, can the principal return the student to the classroom of the teacher who removed that student?
Answer: Not without the teacher’s consent—unless the teacher is overruled by a placement-review committee that determines such placement is the best or only alternative available.
See also questions 9, 13, and 17.
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