Disciplinary Alternative Education Research Articles

The role of relationships, curriculum design, and program culture in improving academic and behavioral outcomes in a disciplinary alternative education program: A photovoice study

The literature on “what works” in disciplinary alternative education is inconclusive. Our current understanding of effective disciplinary alternative education programs is based primarily on quantitative data collected for administrative purposes. The voices of youth directly affected by disciplinary alternative education programs are often excluded from the conversation. To fill this gap in the literature, our study utilizes Photovoice methodology with 11 youth in disciplinary alternative education programs in the Midwest. The findings suggest the importance of positive relationships with adults, having tailored educational curriculum delivery, and addressing punitive elements of program culture for the academic and behavioral outcomes for youth with moderate to high-risk behaviors in a disciplinary alternative education setting. Youth recommend modification of the curriculum, increase in socialization activities, and improvement of disciplinary and incentive procedures.

A Solution-Focused Approach to Student Reintegration into the Traditional School Setting after a Disciplinary Alternative School Placement

ABSTRACT Students who exhibit behavioral problems may be placed in temporary disciplinary alternative education placements (DAEPs). According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in the United States, 64% of districts report having at least one disciplinary alternative school for at-risk students. However, information available to school counselors regarding how to assist students in their reentry into the traditional school environment remains limited. The purpose of this article is to (a) highlight behaviors, practices and policies that contribute to students’ placement into alternative schools, (b) outline barriers that hinder, and strategies that help, students transition and reentry and (c) present a six session intervention strategy and integrated case illustration that fuses current literature and SFBT to create an intervention that can be used to assist students’ with successful reintegration into the traditional school setting after a disciplinary alternative school placement.

A descriptive analysis of disciplinary consequence assignments to Grades 3 through 8 students in special education: A Texas statewide, multiyear investigation

In this investigation, the numbers and percentages of students who were enrolled in special education and who received a discipline consequence (i.e., in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement, and Juvenile Justice Education Program placement) during the 2012-2013 through 2015-2016 school years were determined. In each of these four school years, the number of students in special education who were assigned an exclusionary discipline assignment steadily decreased. The percentages of the total exclusionary assignments given to students in special education, however, did not decrease but rather remained stable across the four school years. Recommendations for research and implications are discussed along with suggestions for policy and practice.

Ethnic/Racial disparities in Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placements for Texas Grade 6, 7 and 8 boys: A statewide, multiyear analysis

Ethnic/Racial disparities in Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placements for Texas Grade 6, 7 and 8 boys: A statewide, multiyear analysis

Exclusionary Discipline Consequences and Reading Performance of Grades 3 Through 8 Students in Special Education: A Statewide, Multiyear Analysis

In this investigation, the academic performance of students in special education who received between 1 to 30 days, between 31-60, and more than 60 days in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement and had STAAR Reading Level I: Unsatisfactory, STAAR Reading Level II: Satisfactory, STAAR Reading Level II: Phase-In Satisfactory, and STAAR Reading Level III: Advanced standard during the 2012-2013 through 2015-2016 school years were determined. In each of these four school years, the percentage of students in special education who received Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement and had Unsatisfactory Standard performance on the STAAR Reading exam consistently increased for all grades except for Grade 4. The percentage of students who had Phase-In Satisfactory Standard performance on the STAAR Reading exam consistently decreased for all grades except for Grade 4. The percentages of students who had Satisfactory and Advanced Standard performance remained consistent across the four school years, never varying more than 7%. Recommendations for research and implications are discussed along with suggestions for policy and practice.

Making Positive Changes Counseling (MPCC) Program: A Creative Adaptation of Motivational Interviewing for Use with Children in School Settings

ABSTRACTMotivational Interviewing (MI)-based counseling can be creatively adapted for working with elementary school students in disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of MI with elementary-aged students in the DAEP. The Making Positive Changes Counseling (MPCC) program is a six-session program, which addresses children’s readiness for change, exploration of values and goals and current behaviors, recognition of personal strengths, perspective taking, recognition for possible changes, and effective decision making. The program is an adaptation of the standardized MI approach utilizing visuals and age-appropriate materials that are easily adaptable to individualized (or even group) guidance format.

Mathematics achievement and Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement of grades 3 through 8 students with disabilities: A Texas statewide, multiyear examination

In this investigation, the mathematics performance of Grades 3 through 8 students who were enrolled in special education and who were assigned to a Discipline Alternate Education Program placement was addressed.  Four years of Texas statewide data were analyzed by the number of days (i.e., 1-30 days, 31-60 days, and more than 60 days) students in special education received this discipline consequence.  Across all four school years and for all six grade levels, mathematics performance decreased as students spent more days in this discipline consequence.  Implications of these findings are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.

Secondary Discipline: The Unintended Consequences of Zero Tolerance School Discipline for Low-Income Black and Latina Mothers

Utilizing ethnographic data from a public Grade 6 to 12 Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in Texas, this article examines the frequently overlooked impact of zero tolerance school discipline on parents. The analysis focuses on three disciplinary practices: (a) Mandatory Parent/Student Orientation, (b) Night Classes, and (c) Requests for parent–staff meetings. Findings reveal the DAEP exposed parents, in particular low-income, Black and Latina mothers, to what I term “secondary discipline,” where they became targets of program discipline alongside their children. Secondary discipline was not neutrally applied to all parents by program staff, but was informed by racialized, classed, and gendered discourses.

Effects of a Motivational Interviewing–Based Counseling Program on Classroom Behavior of Children in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

A multiple single‐case research design was used to explore changes in teacher‐reported behaviors of 15 children who completed a motivational interviewing–based counseling program in a disciplinary alternative education school. Findings indicated that 7 children made a moderate to large improvement in their classroom behaviors while participating in the program. Students’ self‐motivational statements and self‐reported readiness to change were related to actual teacher‐rated behavioral changes. Implications for future research and counseling practice were discussed.

School Discipline, Race, and the Discursive Construction of the “Deficient” Student

Research has demonstrated how, in the current era of mass incarceration, the punitive arm of the state now extends beyond traditional criminal justice structures into institutions typically associated with providing care or a social good. The negative effects of this shift have disproportionately impacted marginalized populations, particularly low-income black and Latino communities. This article examines one way that this extension has manifested in the realm of public education. Based on ethnographic data from a public Grade 6–12 Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) in Texas, this article scrutinizes the program’s behavioral rules and disciplinary procedures. The analysis focuses on students’ introductory experience to the DAEP as a “strategic research site” to illuminate the program’s formal objectives, methods to achieve their institutional goals, and their intended effects on students. I find that the practices and procedures in place at the DAEP operate through racializing surveillance to constitute “disciplinary technologies” devoted to the transformation of “culturally deficient” students—a racialized and gendered classification—into docile bodies. Students are disciplined through punitive and rehabilitative methods premised on the discursive construction of “deficient” students and families.

Imprisoning ‘Those’ Kids: Neoliberal Logics and the Disciplinary Alternative School

Despite a perceived retrenchment of exclusionary school punishment, the disciplinary alternative school has emerged as a space in which to enforce upon marginalized students the logics of neoliberal carcerality. This article draws on the code of conduct handbooks of 15 Texas Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs to illustrate how this space seeks to reaffirm social and economic marginality for certain youth. Specific processes in the alternative school prepare youth for a life of imprisonment, often characterized by criminal justice system involvement, but also precarious (un)employment. As such, this article situates the disciplinary alternative school as one of many ‘alternatives’ to carcerality through which the carceral state maintains its power.

Integrating Rap Music Into Counseling With Adolescents in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

ABSTRACTRap, hip-hop, and R&B music are often referred to as violent, misogynistic, and a reflection of a culture promoting interpersonal violence. The genre, which provides a cultural lens through which many urban adolescents forge identity and express themselves, subsequently holds potential to combat emotional and interpersonal distress. Creative techniques that incorporate music can be used to help adolescents understand and regulate coping responses to difficult and emotionally sensitive situations. This article presents a rationale and implementation strategy for incorporating rap music into counseling practices with at-risk minority adolescents enrolled in a disciplinary alternative education program. Examples of two interventions designed to assist therapists and clients using music therapeutically are presented. In addition, a discussion of the adaptations and limitations of these activities is provided.

Disciplinary Consequence Differences in Grade 6 Students as a Function of Race, Ethnicity, and Economic Status


 
 
 
 In this investigation, we used Texas statewide data to determine the extent to which ineq- uities were present in the assignment of school disci- plinary consequences. Specifically examined were the assignment of in-school suspension, out-of-school sus- pension, and disciplinary alternative education pro- gram placement to grade 6 Black, Hispanic, and White students by their economic status in Texas public schools. Inferential analyses yielded statistically sig- nificant differences for each disciplinary consequence within each ethnic/racial group. Students who were economically disadvantaged received statistically sig- nificantly more instances of each disciplinary conse- quence than their same ethnic/racial peers who were not economically disadvantaged. Of note was the very high numbers of grade 6 students who were as- signed these disciplinary consequences. A clear lack of equity was demonstrated in the assignment of dis- ciplinary consequences to grade 6 Black, Hispanic, and White students by their economic status. As such, school administrators and educational leaders are urged to evaluate their own discipline programs to ascertain the degree to which they have equity in the assignment of disciplinary consequences in the stu- dents they serve.
 
 
 

An Analysis of the Role of the Male and Female District Hearing Officers and the Effectiveness of this Role

The Texas Education Code (TEC) contains a provision called “Safe Schools” that holds that students who exhibit discipline and behavioral problems may be suspended from school, removed to a disciplinary alternative education program, or expelled and placed in a juvenile justice alternative education program. The TEC mandates that before students are subjected to these disciplinary measures, each student must be provided with a due process hearing. At most independent school districts (ISDs) in South Texas, the Hearing Officers are responsible for facilitating the due process procedures. However, one problem at hand is that there are no formal guidelines, legal or administrative, that clearly define the case management approaches to be followed by the Hearing Officer. Notably, such approaches can provide guidance to Hearing Officers about the appropriate measures to take in balancing discipline and the educational needs and outcomes of at-risk youths; in respecting and upholding the dignity of the student being disciplined; and in ensuring that such students learn from the consequences of their school violations. Using the single case study approach, this study analyzed Hearing Officers’ duties, effectiveness in carrying out such duties, and whether gender had an impact on their performance.

The role of delay of gratification, substance abuse, and violent behavior on academic achievement of disciplinary alternative middle school students

Disciplinary alternative education programs are academic environments where students are detained for 45days by the county or court for delinquent and/or deviant behavior in their traditional schools. This study examined individual differences in academic performance, violence, willingness to delay gratification, and substance abuse of 391 students enrolled in a disciplinary alternative middle school program. Results revealed that students who reported a high propensity to delay gratification and low tendencies towards violent behavior and substance abuse obtained high math scores on the state standardized test. In addition, the negative association between violent behavior on math scores was attenuated by race/ethnicity status. Socio-economic status was not significantly associated with math test scores. Implications for further studies and educational implications are discussed.

162. Exposure to a Firearm in the Home is Strongly Associated With Latino Adolescent Violence Perpetration and Substance Use

In 2014, the World Health Organization reported that violence continues to be a major cause of global adolescent mortality. The Pan American Health Organization also reported that violence is the leading cause of adolescent mortality in the Americas. The Institute of Medicine recently released a research priority agenda focused on reducing the threat of firearm-related violence. This study explores the association of exposure to a firearm in the home with violence perpetration, substance use, and the presence of mental health symptoms among middle and high school Latino students in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP).

Discipline or Prejudice? Overrepresentation of Minority Students in Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs

The study seeks to determine the underlying factors contributing to the overrepresentation of minorities in school disciplinary programs. Data from 207 Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) in Texas are analyzed. The data represent more than 62 % of the student population of Texas school districts. Results support the hypothesis that the ‘whiteness’ of school district undesirably affects the overrepresentation of Black students (but not Hispanic students) in DAEP. Overrepresentation of Black students in disciplinary programs is significantly higher in urban school districts than in rural districts. The findings, however, add a new layer of complexity to the debate on the overrepresentation of minorities in disciplinary programs. This is because not only White school districts are more likely than other districts to exercise their discretionary authority to punish minorities but they also more frequently subject their minority students to mandatory disciplines that are well defined by the state. Plausible explanations of such overrepresentation is offered for future research. Neither wealth nor the districts’ type (urban, suburban, rural and mid-size) have been found to have significant impact on discretionary or mandatory disciplinary actions against minority students.

Piloting a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Infused Skills Group in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP)

This study explored the impact of a 4-week skills group intervention based on the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with a sample of adolescents attending a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. This article provides a session-by-session overview of activities adapted from DBT-specified training modules of mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. The results of a pre/posttest comparison revealed reductions in student- and parent-reported indicators of behavioral distress when compared to a control sample of students not receiving the intervention. Implications and continuing challenges of conducting efficacy studies of clinical interventions in schools are discussed.

Middle School Black and White Student Assignment to Disciplinary Consequences

Disciplinary consequences assigned to all Texas middle school Black and White students ( n = 172,551 Grade 6 students; 173,671 Grade 7 students; 175,730 Grade 8 students) for the 2008-2009 school year were analyzed to determine the extent to which statistically significant differences were present between the proportion of Black students and the proportion of White students assigned discipline consequences. Black students received in-school suspension at more than twice the percentage of their representation in the overall student sample population. Similar results were present for out-of-school suspension, with proportionately more Black students being assigned to out-of-school suspension than White students. Although the number of students assigned to disciplinary alternative education program placement was small, Black students were still assigned to this disciplinary consequence at a much higher percentage than were White students. A lack of equity was clearly demonstrated in the overrepresentation of Black middle school students assigned to disciplinary consequences.

Patterns in Recidivism and Discretionary Placement in Disciplinary Alternative Education: The Impact of Gender, Ethnicity, Age, and Special Education Status

This study examined the probability of (a) being placed in a disciplinary alternative education setting for mandatory versus discretionary reasons and (b) returning within the same year among an ethnically diverse sample (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic) of middle and high school students (N=270). Participants were compared based on ethnicity, gender, grade level, and special education status. Minority students were significantly more likely than Caucasian students to be placed in disciplinary alternative education for discretionary reasons and were more likely to return within the same school year. A similar result was revealed for high school students when compared to middle school students. Differences were found between boys and girls, but none were found between students who qualified for special education services and those who did not. The cultural and developmental implications of these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future practice and research.