A District of Innovation is a concept passed by the 84th Legislative Session in House Bill 1842 giving traditional independent school districts most of the flexibilities available to the state’s open enrollment charter schools. Any district with an academic performance rating of at least Academically Acceptable is eligible.
The idea behind Districts of Innovation is that a local school district may want to pursue specific innovations in curriculum, instruction, governance, parent or community involvement, school calendar, budgeting, or other areas. An innovation plan allows a district to gain exemption from many Texas Education Code requirements, thus gaining more local control. Each innovation plan is expected to be unique to each school district, allowing for local values and goals to be incorporated into the plan.
Beeville ISD took the first step in exploring this opportunity when the Board approved a resolution initiating the process on November 28, 2016. The Board then held a public hearing to consider whether the district should develop an innovation plan, at which time the Board decided to move forward in the process. A committee was appointed to develop an innovation plan.
The proposed District of Innovation plan for BISD provides flexibility in the following areas: school start date, minimum minutes of instruction, 90-percent attendance rule, teacher certification, and teacher/principal appraisal system. Each district may identify different areas where their plans would take advantage of the flexibility that is available.
As required, the plan will be posted on-line for the 30 days to allow for public comment, after which the District Advisory Committee would have to approve it before it could go back to the Board. Comments/suggestions on the plan should be emailed to publicrelations@beevilleisd.net
To review the plan, please click on [BISD District of Innovation Plan (01.16.17]
Additional information:
Districts of Innovation Presentation (11.15.16)
BISD District of Innovation Timeline
TASB Information on Districts of Innovation
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