DESOTO HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT HANDBOOK 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR

CREATED BY: THE DESOTO HIGH SCHOOL

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

“Soaring for Excellence.”

**THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT

ANY TIME**
Purpose of this Handbook
The purpose of this handbook is to provide each student with the idea of how discipline will be handled at
DeSoto High School for this school year. Our students are expected to thoroughly read all expectations
within the handbook so you can have a good understanding of our approach to our policies. If you have
any inquiries regarding our handbook, please contact me via email.

Discord Communications
Being in the communications server is a privilege which could be taken from our students at any time. In
an effort to ensure that our community members are safe communicating on our server, all students are
required to follow our server guidelines. Failure to follow our server guidelines will result in disciplinary
action which will lead to your ban. All server guidelines are in compliance with the Discord TOS to
ensure the safety of all server members.

Server Guidelines
1. No inappropriate language is allowed in our communications server.
2. Do not discuss other schools and their success, reputation, activity, or other situations in our
channels.
3. Drama/conflict is strictly prohibited in our communications server. By arguing or being involved
in any type of drama in our communications server will result in a temporary kick from our
server. Take all drama or conflict to direct messages.
4. Treat all community members with respect.
5. Do not discuss personal information (includes your age, suicidal thoughts, or personal life) inside
of our public channels. Keep that information confidential to the public.
6. Inappropriate images or discussions are prohibited in our channels. If you were granted picture
permissions, it will be removed if you violate the guidelines by posting inappropriate images. By
having inappropriate discussions, you will be muted on the first redirection. On the second
redirection, you will be kicked from the server.
7. We have zero tolerance for bullying or harassment with our community members. Bullying or
harassing our community members will result in a ban from our communications server.
8. Spamming or mass mentioning is strictly prohibited. By mass mentioning, it's an automatic
permanent ban from our server without an appeal.
9. Advertising is prohibited on our communications server. Sending invite links or recruitment
messages to individuals within the server will result in an automatic ban without the eligibility to
appeal.

Ban Appeal
If banned from our communications server for the violation of our server guidelines, all community
members that were banned once without any previous infractions are granted with one opportunity to
submit the ban appeal form. In order to be considered to be unbanned, the ban appeal form must be
extremely detailed and sincere. If the appeal form doesn’t meet the requirements, the appeal will be
denied. The previous action for the community member will be evaluated and the decision will be made

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by the server moderators on if the community member will be unbanned. If a community member appeals
to be unbanned, he/she is expected to refrain from violating the server guidelines as the second offense
may be a permanent ban without the eligibility to appeal.

School Session Information

DeSoto High School operates Monday - Friday from 5:30 - 7:10 PM. There’s a total of seven class
periods, instructional time is 10 minutes, passing periods are three minutes. Students are encouraged to
attend school sessions to be able to have a real high school experience and to socialize with those that
attend. Attending school is a requirement for all program students and for those a part of our
extracurricular activities.

Student Disciplinary Plan

Discipline is managed by the Senior Leadership Team, which are the Assistant Principals and Principal.
The Senior Leadership Team believes in a fair, rational, and personable approach to discipline. Our
primary goal isn’t to punish students. Our primary goals are:
● to approach every situation with a “listen to understand” mindset
● to treat all students fairly and with respect
● to guide students on a path towards strong, independent decision making

DeSoto High School has adopted collective stances against: (1) drama, (2) violence, and (3) the use of
derogatory slurs.

Disciplinary Approach within the Classroom

The Senior Leadership Team employs a disciplinary flowchart to guide the issuance of disciplinary
consequences. The flowchart begins inside of the classroom. Instructional staff members are trained to:
● quickly respond to all issues inside the classroom (at times, this could mean simply removing
students from classrooms to administrators)
● treat all students fairly and with respect
● continue the process of instruction without interruptions as quickly as possible

Instructional staff members have the authority to issue referrals to administration for inside the classroom
offenses. Inside the classroom referrals will be followed up with at a later time by the Associate Dean of
Students. See the flowchart in “student levels of offenses” for inside the classroom disciplinary examples.

Disciplinary Approach outside the Classroom

Many disciplinary cases are handled at the administrative level. Instructional staff members may request
administrative assistance for discipline if they deem necessary. Section Principals and the Deans office
will respond to these requests.

The disciplinary flowchart found in “student levels of offenses” provides examples of disciplinary action
at the administrative level.

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Discipline for Special Education
Discipline for the Special Education Program is managed by the Program Coordinator in conjunction with
the Assistant Principal of Operations & Discipline. The Program Coordinator is required to follow the
same philosophy and policy that the rest of the school follows. All consequences above a one-day
in-school suspension are approved by a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

Student Levels of Offenses

Please review the discipline flowchart.
STEP ONE - OBSERVE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

STEP TWO - DETERMINE COURSE OF ACTION

Appropriate interventions should always be followed as listed. A respectful conversation that solves the
problem is always better than issuing a consequence, however.

Classroom Appropriate Contact Appropriate

Managed Interventions Admin/Code Interventions

Attendance Tardiness (1-5) Verbal warning, Tardiness (6+) In-school

Skipping Class 1v1 meeting to Skipping Class suspension,
(1-2) determine (2+) After-school
possible issues, Unauthorized detention,
meeting w/ dean, Area Activity
detention suspension
(after-school) SDRT Meeting with
Principal for
further
consequences in
continued

Protection of Misuse of Verbal warning, Exploits, theft, Out of school

DISD Property Property after-class referral possession of suspension,
Vandalism, Minor to dean, detention stolen property, recommendation
(requires report to false fire alarm, for expulsion
admin bomb threats
after-the-fact
SDRT

Disruptions to Profanity Verbal warning, Repeated offenses In school

the Learning Disruptive after-class referral of any item from suspension,
Environment Conduct to dean, List A, after-school

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 Inappropriate detention, Gang affiliation, detention, lunch
Dress/Nicknames in-school interference with detention,
Open Defiance suspension administrative Activity
business, suspension, out of
possession of school suspension
drugs, alcohol,
tobacco

SDRT

Abusive Actions Call for Call for Call For Automatic

(Towards Administration Administration Administration In-School
Individuals, Suspension
Towards SERT
Property)

Slurs Call for Call for Call for Automatic

Administration Administration Administration In-School
Suspension
SDRT

Abuse to Mental Call for Call for Call for Automatic

Health Administration Administration Administration detention OR
student apology
SDRT, SOCIAL letter/message

Notes
1. Disruptions to the learning environment can be anything a faculty member feels jeopardizes
the quality learning environment. Disruptions to the learning environment can occur in
common areas during common times as well.
2. All slurs require administrative contact. This is a part of DeSoto’s collective stance against the
use of slurs.
3. Abuse to mental health is a category for any student who feels their mental health has been put
in jeopardy due to the actions of other students. This category is a part of DeSoto’s initiative to
be a more inclusive place for our students with mental health challenges.
4. “Possession” can be literal or imagined. If a student says they possess drugs, then the
administration will act accordingly. Words carry weight.
5. “Fighting” can be literal or imagined. If a student says “punches,” then the student cannot say,
“I did not punch.” Words carry weight.
6. All fights require administrative contact. This is a part of DeSoto’s collective stance against
violence.
7. If a student exceeds over five disciplinary referrals, the student is eligible for expulsion.
Students are eligible for expulsion on the first unacceptable major level offenses (exploiting,
bypassing chat filter, destruction of property, etc).

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Disciplinary Alternative Education Program
The DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program) is the final opportunity for students to learn
from their behavioral offenses and receive behavioral intervention before the expulsion process. The
leadership team evaluates the student’s behavior while in DAEP and considers on if the student should
remain as a student in DeSoto ISD. Here are the requirements for DAEP:

● Students will eat for lunch during 5th Period (starting at the tardy bell) in the DAEP room, which
is also the In-School Suspension Room. Students will be muted while walking in a line to go to
the serving line to pick up a grab-and-go meal to return back to the DAEP classroom.
○ Once students return back into the classroom from going to the serving line, they’re able
to socialize with their fellow peers for a duration of 5 minutes.
● Students are required to be present for each school day. Whenever they aren’t able to attend, they
must get in contact with the Assistant Principal of Operations & Discipline. Ten unexcused
absences while being a part of the program will result in an expulsion.
● Students must complete work assigned by the DAEP/In-School Suspension Teacher while in the
program. Failure to complete work will result in the extension of time in the program.

Expulsion
Expulsion from DeSoto High School is a major event that the administration does not take lightly. There
are several types of expulsions, but each expulsion is handled in a uniform fashion.

Upon a student being recommended for expulsion by the Dean’s office or another member of the
Executive Leadership Team, the following will occur:
● If necessary, the Dean’s office will launch and complete an investigation into any incidents
relating to the expulsion recommendation. This investigation will not take any longer than 24
hours.
● The Principal, Section Principal, Executive Dean, and any other directly involved parties will
meet to discuss the potential expulsion. One of two things will occur: (1) the student will be
expelled from school, OR (2) the executive team will determine a secondary course of
disciplinary action that all directly involved parties agree is fair and feasible.
Type A Expulsion - Destruction to Property
Students who cause destruction to DISD property through exploiting.

Type B Expulsion - Detriment to Community

DeSoto High School strives to be a drama-free, welcoming, friendly, and accepting community. Students
who continually choose to harm this environment will be recommended for expulsion.

Type C Expulsion - Continual Offense

Students who compile more than ten disciplinary offenses in a six-week period will be automatically
recommended for expulsion.

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Student Consequence Appeals
Consequences may only be appealed one way: through email.

To appeal a consequence, use the following template to email the Principal.

[To] [email protected]
[Subject] Your Username | Your Section | Date of Incident | Period of Incident | APPEAL
[Body] In the body of the message, you must do all of the following:
● describe in detail the incident that occurred
● state the consequences you were issued
● state direct reasons you believe your consequence should be appealed
● state how you can positively impact your school community in the future
Please note: failure to not include one of the four required items will result in your appeal being
automatically denied.

Student Academics & Programs

Course Newsletters
Teachers post class newsletters daily to discuss what was learned in class for those that didn’t attend and
provide an update to our students on classwork assignments, homework assignments, tests/quizzes,
projects, and behavior for each class. Course newsletters are released via Discord and Google Classroom
for those that aren’t within the communications server. Students are highly encouraged to thoroughly read
course newsletters to stay updated with their classes.

Completion of Assignments
General Education and program students are required to complete their assignments on-time. All
assignments are assigned weekly by teachers via Google Classroom and are graded by the end of the
week. The Google Classroom code for courses is able to be accessed on the communications server in the
classroom codes channel or in the course newsletter channel. For those that’s not within the
communications server, they’re able to receive the codes during classes.

Academic Excellence Incentives

For depositing your hard work, time, and effort to complete assignments, all of our students will receive a
return. At the end of each six weeks, we will choose five students from general education, two students
from Special Education, and two students from Honors to reward for academic excellence. Academic
Excellence Incentives may also be given to the top five students that performed well on district issued
assessments or Midterm/Final Exams.

Grading Policy
Each day, DeSoto enrolls up to 30+ students into our school. Out of the 30, half of them attends the school
session and completes our assignments. When completing assignments, all teachers will grade

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assignments in compliance to the DeSoto High School grading policy. All assignments will be weighted
based on the category. The categories for grading are:

● Homework or Minor Assignments: 20%

● Classwork: 35%
● Tests or Major Assignments: 45%

Assignments that are submitted late for students that have been enrolled into the Google Classroom will
result in a deduction of points. Program Students that submit late work could receive a deduction of 10-15
points for the assignment. Some teachers are able to put a zero in the gradebook until the assignment has
been submitted.

Removal from Program

The DeSoto High School Administrative Team and Senior Leadership Team is able to forcibly remove a
student from the Special Education Program or Honors Program if the student is not in compliance with
our expectations for our school. Before a student is removed from one of our programs, a hearing will be
planned with the Principal, Assistant Principal of Student Services, and the program coordinators to
discuss the reasoning for the removal from the program.

Enrollment into Special Education & Alternative Education

Apart from courses offered in General Education and Honors, DeSoto High School offers two exclusive
programs. These programs are known as Special Education (Resource Intervention) and Alternative
Education (Behavioral Intervention). Both programs are staffed by highly qualified instructional teachers,
instructional paraprofessionals and two program coordinators.

Enrollment into these programs are on an as- needed basis. In order to qualify, the student must reach the
following criteria:

❏ Must complete work in class

❏ Must have sufficient attendance (no more than 10 unexcused absences)
❏ Must refrain from false roleplay (roleplaying as crying, screaming, being destructive, etc)
❏ Have a disability/illness that supports your placement into the program.

You can find the application for the Special Education Program on DeSoto’s Discord Server. Once your
application is reviewed, the section social worker and program coordinator will discuss your application
and determine if your criteria meets the program’s requirements. Applications for these programs are
reviewed before school, during lunch, and after school. Once accepted, the program coordinator will meet
with you to start developing an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan). This plan will help set goals,
strengths and weaknesses and accommodations that will help you succeed at DeSoto.

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Student Culture
Extracurricular Activities
Extracurricular activities are vital to our student's high school experience. We want our students to not
only excel within the classroom, but we want them to excel outside of the classroom as well. Students are
highly encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity and get involved in the activities that we offer
here at DeSoto High School. In order to be a part of extracurricular activities for DeSoto High School, all
students MUST be enrolled as a student in the group. Our activities are only designed for our students, not
visitors. Additional extracurricular activities may be introduced throughout the duration of the school
year. Students that have any suggestions for extracurricular activities are able to suggest the activities to
the Assistant Principal of Culture & Community Relations.

Attendance for Activity Members/Athletes

Individuals that are a part of Extracurricular Activities are required to be present and on time weekly on
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays for the entire duration of the school day. If a student is unable to attend
school on one of the required days, they’re to contact the Assistant Principal of Culture & Community
Relations and their Activity Leader via Discord DMs. The student will be required to make-up their
absence on Wednesday or Thursday depending on the amount of absences. Exceeding the following
amount of absences could result in the following major disciplinary action:

● Three Unexcused Absences → One Week Suspension

● Five Unexcused Absences → Removal from Extracurricular Activity/Sport

Attendance will always be enforced by the Activity Leader/Coach and the Assistant Principal of Culture
& Community Relations for the required days. Students are expected to maintain sufficient attendance for
the entire duration of the six weeks grading period. Attendance for all athletes/extracurricular activity
members will reset the first day of the new grading period.

Discipline for Extracurricular Activity Students

Being a part of extracurricular activities is not a requirement, it is a privilege. Students apart from any
extracurricular activities are held to higher standards and are required to conduct themselves appropriately
at all times. All students are expected to be in compliance with the expectations within the student
handbook/code of conduct on-campus and off-campus. Three disciplinary referrals that are entered for a
student will result in the removal from all activities until the next semester or the end of the six weeks.

Student Events
Events are planned weekly at DeSoto High School throughout the duration of the school year. Our goal is
to ensure that we’re promoting a positive school culture and want to provide the best high school
experience possible to our students. Events are able to be suggested to the Extracurricular Activities &
Events Coordinator.

Revoking Student Events

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Students at DeSoto High School are expected to be in compliance with our student handbook/code of
conduct at all times. If a student violates the expectations in the code of conduct, the Disciplinary Team is
able to revoke the privilege for students to attend school events, athletic games, or alliance events as a
consequence. Once the privilege is revoked, the student(s) will not be allowed to participate in the event.
If the student trespasses by playing on his/her main account or an alternative account, the student is able
to be suspended for up to five days and all activities will be revoked for the remainder of the semester.

Safety
In DeSoto High School, safety will remain as a top priority at all times within our campus,
communications server, or other district owned facilities. In an effort to ensure that our students are kept
safe at all times and are aware of what to do in case of an emergency, safety drills will be conducted
throughout the duration of the school year. Fire drills will be conducted at least twice a month, lockdown
drills will be conducted once a semester. Additional drills are conducted throughout the duration of the
school year.

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