Round Rock ISD Board Votes To Become 'District Of Innovation' Despite Teachers' Concerns

ROUND ROCK, TX -- Round Rock ISD board members on Thursday voted in favor of being designated as a so-called "District of Innovation" at their regular meeting, despite the opposition of several teachers to the plan.

A group of union-affiliated teachers calling themselves Education Round Rock voiced concerns over the designation, which allows a number of exemptions to the Texas Education Code.

The ability of a school districts to transform into "districts of innovation" was granted by the Legislature by virtue of HB 1842 passed last year. The legislation gives schools "greater flexibility to meet students needs," district officials said. By allowing seven exemptions to long-established TEA (Texas Education Agency) requirements, public school districts can gain flexibility hat before was granted to charter schools.

The exemptions cover the areas related to:

• teacher certifications for dual credit, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and foreign language courses;
• minimum minutes of instruction for unique scheduling and flexibility;
• minimum attendance for class credit to focus on content mastery versus seat time;
• calendar requirements for the first and last day of school;
• class size ratio requirements for grades K-4 to minimize classroom disruption;
• September 1 age deadline for five-year-olds entering kindergarten; and
• requirements for teacher mentors.

"House Bill 1842 allowed school districts to gain more local control through a community-based plan for TEC exemptions, allowing for more flexibility to meet students’ needs," district officials wrote last month in an advisory alerting to an informational district prior to the vote.. "Districts go through a process that starts with its Board of Trustees adopting a resolution, a design team to initiate the recommendation process, a review by the District Level Committee, a final vote for approval by its Board, and submission to the state commissioner of education."

Teachers complained they weren't given enough notice about the district's plan to become a "district of innovation." Others complained of the plan's vagueness, saying it lacked clarity and specificity in terms of how it might manifest itself.

Despite teachers' opposition, the district's board members voted unanimously to approve the measure.

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