BACK

CH. 37 - - How to Permanently Remove
Disruptive or Abusive Students from Your Classroom

Yes, it's true - - Texas law does give you the right to remove such a student from your classroom - - permanently.  (More info is available below and on the FAQs page.)

Do you have a student who repeatedly keeps you from teaching and other children from learning?   Would you like to invoke Ch. 37?  A-TSTA can help you with the wording of the request and with compiling the documentation!  

Want a packet?  
Fill out form > >

PLEASE  SEND  CH 37  INFORMATION

  <Email Address
  <Your campus
  <Your Name

Here is what the law says:  

School employees - - especially classroom teachers - - have the legal authority (granted by the legislature) to have removed from class students who violate Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code.  This applies both to individual teachers and to administrators.   There are two kinds of removal:  MANDATORY and DISCRETIONARY.

MANDATORY  REMOVAL  37.006 - - A student must by law be removed from class and the placed in an alternative education program for the following offenses committed on school property or school-related events:
. . . any felonious conduct
. . . an assault that causes bodily injury
. . . abuse of glue, aerosol paint, or volatile chemicals
. . . public lewdness or indecent exposure
. . . retaliation against any school employee, on or off school property
. . . use, possession, sale, or delivery of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs.

MANDATORY REMOVAL  37.007 - - A student must by law be removed from class AND expelled AND referred to the juvenile justice system for the following offenses committed on school property or at a school-related event:
. . . use, exhibition, or possession of a firearm, illegal knife, club, or other prohibited weapon
. . . aggravated assault, sexual assault, arson, murder, attempted murder, indecency with a child, or aggravated kidnapping
. . . retaliation against any school employee, on or off of school property.

DISCRETIONARY REMOVAL  37.002(b) - - A teacher may have a student removed from his/her class at the discretion of that teacher:
. . . for repeatedly interfering with the teacher's ability
. . . for engaging in a behavior which the teacher determines is so unruly, disruptive, or abusive it seriously interferes with teaching and learning.

The CH. 37 packet contains the law, advice, and formats for documentation to assist with your request to remove a student.  Of course, you can contact me or the TSTA Help Center (877-ASK-TSTA) for additional help.  Please feel free to email me if you have questions by clicking on my name below (this links to my private email, not my district email).  

For privacy reasons, you should not give the name (or other identifying information) of a student in the body of any email. 

Mary Ann Reuter
President, ALIEF-TSTA/NEA