Round Rock School District Officials Invite Public To Examine 'District Of Innovation' Plan

ROUND ROCK, TX -- School district officials are accepting public comment on their efforts to secure a so-called "District of Innovation" designation, a controversial measure aimed at freeing them from certain state regulations from which only charter schools are currently exempt.

"Community members now have an opportunity to review a plan that could bring more flexibility to schools, allowing Round Rock ISD to meet students’ needs and align with its Strategic Plan," officials explain on the district website.

Officials said Round Rock ISD’s District of Innovation (DOI) [roundrockisd.org/district-of-innovation/] design committee concluded their recommendation Sept. 12 for the district’s exemption from seven Texas Education Code (TEC) statutes including:

• 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. "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."

Passed in 2015, HB 1842 allows traditional districts to adopt more innovation plans and seek exemptions to some state regulations that up to then had been only offered charter schools. As district officials explain, the exemptions allow districts greater latitude in determining teacher certification requirements; class size ratios; attendance guidelines; school start dates; implementation of a 90 percent attendance rule; student discipline provisions; teacher appraisal requirements; teacher appraisal requirements; and other oversight measures.

The final rules dictating DOI plans were released earlier this month. James Crow, executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards, has gone on record as supporting the DOI option. He wrote on the TASB website:

"For years, Texas school board members and administrators have complained about the ever-increasing number of state mandates and prescriptive laws and bemoaned the continual erosion of local control. Now there is a realistic process for districts to do something about this. Take advantage. Investigate the possibilities and potential of becoming a district of innovation”.

But not everyone is on board with the DOI option. Some see the changes it would bring as too drastic and potentially jeopardizing teachers' job security.

Voices Empower, a group founded by a self-described "politically active Texas mom," Alice Linahan, opposes the DOI concept. "This is a bi-partisan push to collapse our traditional public school system and remove the power of locally elected school boards," the group contends.

Round Rock officials, however, maintain they've been methodical in considering the exemptions outlined in the DOI plan.

"Round Rock ISD’s plan aligns with its community’s Strategic Plan, adopted by the Board in May 2015," officials wrote, directing parents to roundrockisd.org/strategicplan. "The committee gave Careful consideration to the selection of the exemptions contained in this plan."

Moreover: "In its recommendations, the DOI design team stipulated that changes in teacher qualification requirements will be limited to teachers of hard-to-fill courses in CTE, bilingual, and foreign language, as well as dual credit," Round Rock ISD officials said.

Assuming the school board approves a DOI plan at its Oct. 20 regular meeting, administrators will work with trustees to set local policies and support changes. Officials note that DOI plans are reviewed on an annual basis.

Students, teachers, parents and community members can review the district's DOI plan by clicking here. To submit feedback, click here.

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