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.
Beeville ISD has served as a District of Innovation for 2017-2022. BISD is in the process of amending and reviewing the current plan with proposed amendments and recommendations. Please see the attached link to the Recommended Amendments for DOI 2022-2027 and the feedback link. We are soliciting feedback from our parents, students, staff, and community members on this plan. Please complete the two question link below. As required, the plan will be posted online 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.
To review the existing plan, please click on Beeville ISD District of Innovation Plan 2017-2022
To review the recommended amendments, please click on Recommended Amendments for DOI 2022-2027
To provide feedback, please click on this short District of Innovation Survey
Additional information
TEA Information on Districts of Innovation
TASB Information on Districts of Innovation
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