BRENHAM ISD ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM TO TAKE IN BURTON STUDENTS
Brenham ISD’s Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) will now accommodate Burton ISD students.
On Monday, the Brenham School Board voted unanimously in approval of an interlocal agreement that will provide services to Burton students who are assigned to disciplinary alternative education.
Superintendent Dr. Tylor Chaplin said Burton ISD has reached out several times over the past few years to see if Brenham ISD would contract with them to provide DAEP services, as Burton does not have the ability to house DAEP students. With a new law set to go into effect September 1st that requires students who are caught vaping or with e-cigarettes to be sent to DAEP, Dr. Chaplin said the number of students in that program may go up.
Through the agreement, Burton ISD will pay Brenham ISD $145 per day for each student that Brenham takes in. The rate is based off of researching 11 other school districts to see what they typically charge on average.
According to Dr. Chaplin, it will be the responsibility of parents or guardians, not Brenham or Burton ISD, to transport their students from Burton to Brenham for services. The students will come to Brenham for the number of days they are assigned to alternative school and return to Burton when the assigned days are complete. They remain Burton ISD students during the process, and Burton retains their average daily attendance (ADA).
Dr. Chaplin said Burton currently has two students who would be coming to Brenham, but the agreement is on an as-needed basis, so that number could fluctuate. If Brenham were to get to capacity, he said the school district would let Burton ISD know that it cannot house those students at this time. He added that, during his time here, no other school district has inquired to Brenham about providing DAEP services for them.
Well, that’s interesting. We now have enough seat space to include another district’s DAEP students this year, but didn’t have enough seats for our own students last year that needed to serve in DAEP? There must have been a huge hiring spree to handle extra students. Or is it really that someone needs money to handle a budget deficit?