The Northeast Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to adopt the 2025-26 student code of conduct, which incorporates multiple statutory changes and new procedures for discipline, teacher removals and alternative placements.
Tyler Shoesmith, executive director for pupil personnel services, summarized changes that reflect recent legislative action and Chapter 37 revisions. He highlighted updated mandatory and discretionary placements for serious offenses, an expanded set of mandatory expulsion categories (notably offenses involving firearms or conduct causing bodily injury to district employees), and clarified the process when a teacher removes a student from class.
Under the revised teacher-removal framework, a teacher may remove a student from class after a single disruptive incident; the student is then placed temporarily while a meeting is scheduled. To return to the original classroom, the teacher must provide written consent as part of a "return-to-class plan," or the principal may assign the student permanently to another class. If the student appeals, the case proceeds to a placement review committee whose decision is final.
On vaping and e-cigarette offenses, the staff recommended that a first offense for possession or use of a nicotine e-cigarette be assigned to 10 days of in-school suspension (ISS) rather than automatic placement at the district alternative program (DAP); possession of THC or felony-level substances remains a mandatory DAP placement. Administration presented recent incident counts and recidivism data, noting a roughly 6% repeat-offender rate within the same school year.
The code also formalizes a parent-option behavioral agreement for students placed in DAP or expelled; parents may request a plan that, if completed, can make the student eligible for early release from placement. Principals retain discretion to deny a behavioral agreement in cases of egregious conduct.
Board members asked for clear timing on parent notification, documentation standards for medical or safety exceptions, and asked administration to monitor implementation for equity and consistency. Shoesmith said the district will apply progressive-discipline guidance, review placements every 10 school days when required by law, and maintain early-review processes at alternative campuses. Trustees approved the code as amended on the record.