Glossary

The terms you'll see in your district's code of conduct and in meetings, in plain words.

ARD committee

Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee. The team, including the parent, that writes and reviews a student's IEP. It decides the placement of a student who receives special education services (Section 37.004).

Campus behavior coordinator

The administrator each campus designates to handle discipline (Section 37.0012). Often the principal or an assistant principal. Usually the person who receives a removal and schedules the conference.

Class day

A day students are in class. The conference must be scheduled not later than the third class day after the removal. The statute doesn't define the term further, so check your district calendar for holidays and staff days.

Conference

The meeting after a removal among the campus behavior coordinator or administrator, the parent, the teacher, and the student (Section 37.009(a)). The student may not return to the regular classroom until it's held.

Disciplinary proceeding

In Section 22.05121: a district action to fire or suspend a teacher, or to end or not renew the teacher's contract, or an action by the State Board for Educator Certification. A teacher can't face one for a good-faith removal. Your protections

DAEP

Disciplinary alternative education program. A separate setting for students placed there for discipline (Section 37.008). One of the placements a principal may choose after a removal.

Formal removal

The term many districts use for a teacher's removal under Section 37.002(b), as opposed to sending a student to the office under Section 37.002(a).

IEP

Individualized Education Program. The plan for a student who receives special education services.

ISS

In-school suspension. A supervised setting on campus, away from the regular classroom.

Manifestation determination

The ARD committee's review of whether a student's behavior was caused by the student's disability. Required before a disciplinary change in placement for a student who receives special education services.

PEIMS

Public Education Information Management System. The state's school data system. Since 2019, Section 37.002(e) has said removals under subsection (b) aren't counted as classroom removals for PEIMS reporting. The state still records the suspension or placement that follows, under reason code 01, "permanent removal by teacher." The numbers

Placement review committee

A three-member campus committee: two teachers and an alternate chosen by the faculty, and one staff member chosen by the principal (Section 37.003). It decides whether a removed student can return to a teacher's class without the teacher's consent.

Reason code 01

The code the Texas Education Agency uses for discipline that follows a "permanent removal by teacher." Its counts are the closest thing to an official tally of teacher removals: 179 in 2024-25.

Return-to-class plan

A written plan for a removed student's return, prepared by a school employee whose main duties aren't classroom teaching (Section 37.002(c)). It must be created before or at the conference.

Section 504 plan

A plan under federal law (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) that gives a student with a disability accommodations.

Student code of conduct

Your district's discipline rules (Section 37.001). It usually explains who receives a removal and which form to use.