Anna Haley

photo illustration: Students now face 45 days of DAEP if they get in a fight.

Loud screams echo throughout the hallways as students gather to witness fists flung through the air. Administrators run to the scene, pulling apart those fighting. In the bathroom, students huddle up in a circle, passing back and forth a vape, many watching as smoke fills the air.

Disciplinary Alternative Educational Placement, or DAEP, enacted in all Texas school districts to establish consequences for severe behavior. Texas High implemented the alternative placement program 17 years ago, previously called “TIES”. Two new behaviors will now result in students receiving the punishment of DAEP: vaping and fighting. 

“I think it’s quite easy for a lot of kids to just want to fight because there’s not many consequences they have to face after they fight,” senior Salem Alonge said. “I think with the new DAEP rules, those who think a little bit more rationally would rethink their decision on fighting.”

Governor Greg Abbott put the vaping consequence into action over the summer going into the 2023-2024 school year. He, as well as most educators, noticed a massive increase of students vaping in school and would like there to be a decrease.

“Students know that you’re not supposed to vape at school, and they know that if they get caught there will be consequences,” senior Makenely Chandler said. “So if you’re going to vape, wait until you get home, have respect for the school and people around you.”

Like the debate of rehabilitation versus punishment time on drug crimes, instead of sending students away from classroom interactions with teachers and classmates for 45 days,  education programs on state and local levels could push measures to prevent vaping and help students battle addiction more proactively. Nicotine addiction proves to be something that many teenagers battle daily. Bringing vapes into school can also drag other students down this harmful rabbit hole.

“Nicotine is a terrible and addictive thing,” English teacher Kara Wicks said. “So we want to create a space where students don’t have to be around that.” 

Fighting at school can shorten class time, hurt other students by getting them maced, and injure staff members trying to separate the altercation. There will always be disagreements that people deal with. However, as we transition from childhood to adulthood, we must find different avenues to channel anger and resentment. While DAEP formed as a current resolution, a few years later, the punishment could be jail time.

“I think fighting should be punishable by a strict 45-day placement,” Wicks said. “Outside of school, that is a crime and [staff and students] need to feel like we’re in a safe environment. Unfortunately, unless there’s a harsh penalty, people will do it more often.”