Spring ISD is on track to reduce student disciplinary infractions by 10% before 2027 thanks to initiatives rolled out for the 2024-25 school year, district leaders said during a board of trustee meeting Oct. 3.

The approach

The effort to reduce SISD student infractions is part of the district’s discipline and equity plan, which was implemented during the 2022-23 school year, said Matt Pariseau, chief of Innovation & Student Success, on Oct. 3.

SISD’s discipline and equity plan focuses on “prevention, sustainability and monitoring,” according to an Oct. 3 presentation from program leaders. SISD leaders also applied for an exemption last year that included creating a Second Chance Program in the 2024-25 school year for students caught with vapes, said Nigel Simmons, a student success coordinator, on Oct. 3.

In September 2023, Texas House Bill 114 required schools to give students steeper punishments for the possession of e-cigarettes, as previously reported by Community Impact. Under the law, students caught with a device on campus are sent to their district’s disciplinary alternative education program, or DAEP‚ rather than being sent to county programs.

In the 2023-24 school year, 40% of students sent to DAEP were due to vaping offenses, Simmons said.

“This was a way for us to help lower ... that recidivism of students going into the DAEP,” Simmons said.

According to the Oct. 3 presentation, under SISD’s 2024-25 Second Chance Program, students who commit a first offense of:

• Using or possessing vaping products can attend the Second Chance Program, which includes a parent conference and in-school suspension
• Selling, giving, delivering or accepting vaping products or marijuana receive substance abuse counseling, a parent conference and must attend DAEP

Measuring the impact

Students began the 2024-25 school year Aug. 14, and for the first two months of the year, fewer students attended DAEP than in August and September for the 2022-24 school years. According to the presentation, SISD’s average monthly DAEP enrollment was:

• 80% lower in August than in August 2023
• 79% lower in September than in September 2023

“So a lot of those numbers that you do see that have decreased is due to a lot of these opportunities [such as the Second Chance Program] that we've been able to give students,” Simmons said.

“We did identify that the males ... African American students still remain as the dominant students that are attending or being enrolled in the DAEP,” Simmons said.Stay tuned

According to the Oct. 3 presentation, the district’s discipline goals include reducing:

• All student infractions by 5% in the 2024-25 school year
• African American male suspension rates by 10% by 2027
• Special education student suspension rates by 10% by 2027

Under SISD’s discipline plan, campuses have different tiers of support with support teams consisting of teachers, student support specialists, administrators and district staff, said Candace Gilliam, associate principal from Spring Leadership Academy, during the Oct. 3 presentation. The district-level support teams will begin meeting this month.