The most notable thing about Melissa’s son’s 6th birthday should have been the vacation the family took. Instead, it was the letter waiting for them when they returned home.
Her child was assigned to the disciplinary campus in their school district in McKinney, Texas, for 30 days, the April 2024 letter told them, over allegations that the kindergartner had assaulted a teacher about a week prior. Melissa, whose last name is being withheld to protect her son’s privacy, said the incident occurred when the boy had struggled against a restraint, kicking a teacher.
State law requires school districts in Texas to have a disciplinary alternative education program, or DAEP, to send misbehaving students. Students 5 and younger are not allowed to be placed in these programs…