District of Innovation per HB 1842 Dallas Independent School District 1
District of Innovationper HB 1842
Dallas Independent School District
1
House Bill 1842 provides for the opportunity for
Texas school districts to pursue the designation of
District of Innovation.
House Bill 1842:
“Gives traditional independent school districts most of the
flexibilities available to Texas’ open-enrollment charter
schools” (TASB)
Allows for more flexibility and local control to activate
innovative programming
Enables the conditions for innovation to better meet the
needs of our students
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What is a District of Innovation (DOI)?
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• Elected board of trustees
• Powers and duties of school boards, superintendents, and principals
• PEIMS
• Criminal history record checks and educator misconduct reporting
• Curriculum and graduation requirements
• Bilingual education
• Special education
• Prekindergarten
• Academic accountability, including student assessments
• Financial accountability and related reporting
• Open meetings
• Public records
• Public purchasing under the Texas Local Government Code and conflicts of
interest
• Nepotism
• Other state and federal laws outside of the Texas Education Code
Source: TASB FAQ
A DOI proposal cannot change:
Examples of Pursued Exemptions
4
Source: Texas Education Agency
Sample District First Day of
School
Length of
School Day
Compulsory
Attendance
(90%)
Teacher
Certification
Class Size
Sec. 25.0811 Sec. 25.081 and
25.082
Sec. 25.092 Sec. 21.003 Sec. 25.112 and
25.113
Austin ISD ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
El Paso ISD ✓ ✓ ✓
Grand Prairie
ISD✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Point Isabel
ISD✓ ✓
San Antonio
ISD✓ ✓ ✓
Date Action
December 1st, 2016 Board of Trustees discussed District of Innovation Resolution
December 14th, 2016 Board of Trustees approved ‘Resolution to Initiate the Process of Designation as a
District of Innovation’
January 12th, 2017 Board of Trustees discussed process for appointing members to the District of
Innovation Committee as well as the charge to the Committee
January 26th, 2017 District of Innovation Public Hearing
Board of Trustees appointed the District of Innovation Committee
February 1st, 2017 District of Innovation Committee Meeting #1
February 15th, 2017 District of Innovation Committee Meeting #2
February 22nd, 2017 District of Innovation Committee Meeting #3
March 1st, 2017 District of Innovation Committee Meeting #4
March 6th, 2017 Final Version of Local Innovation Plan posted on Dallas ISD website
April 25th, 2017 Districtwide Advisory Committee voted to approve Local Innovation Plan
May 11th, 2017 Board of Trustees discusses final version of Local Innovation Plan
May 25th, 2017 Board of Trustees votes on final version of Local Innovation Plan
Dallas ISD DOI Timeline
DOI Committee Members
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Committee Member Appointment
Patricia Arvanitis Superintendent Hinojosa
Karry Chapman Superintendent Hinojosa
Thom Chesney Superintendent Hinojosa
Ivonne Durant Trustee Flores
Michael Gagne Trustee Micciche
Nicole Gipson-King Trustee Blackburn
Mita Havlick Trustee Marshall
Stacey Hodge Superintendent Hinojosa
Rena Honea Superintendent Hinojosa
Daisy Jamaica Trustee Solis
Michael MacNaughton Trustee Foreman
Rene Martinez Superintendent Hinojosa
Alba Ramirez Trustee Resendez
Dr. Kristie Vowels Trustee Pinkerton
Bob Weiss Trustee Nutall
Board Resolution
The Board charged the District of Innovation
Committee to explore the following exemptions:
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Resolution Language Statutory Reference
“The law prohibiting the District from
beginning instruction before the
fourth Monday in August”
• Texas Education Code (TEC)
25.0911
“The laws that limit the ability of the
District to hire professionals in
certain trades and vocations to
teach the crafts of those trades and
vocations (such as welding, fine
arts, etc.) in career and
technical/STEAM courses”
• TEC 25.003
• TEC 21.053
• TEC 21.044
• 19 Texas Administrative Code
Chapter 231
*Source: Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Resolution to Initiate the Process of Designation as a
District of Innovation (adopted on December 14th, 2016).
Local Innovation Plan Tenets
Following testimony and resource-sharing by subject
matter experts as well as committee deliberation
across 8+ hours of meetings, the DOI Committee
approved a Local Innovation Plan that includes the
following requested exemptions:
Flexibility to begin the school year before the fourth
Monday in August
Flexibility on teacher certification requirements in the areas
of career and technical education and dual-credit
coursework in grades 9-12 only
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Local Innovation Plan Tenets
9
Flexibility Advantages
Flexibility to begin the school
year before the fourth Monday in
August
*Better-balanced semesters and six weeks
*More balanced distribution of instructional time for one-semester
courses
*Completion of fall exams before winter break
*More instructional days in advance of standardized assessments
*More time after the last day of school for students retaking STAAR
exams in the summer
*Opportunity for students to take advantage of full array of summer
dual-credit coursework
Flexibility on teacher
certification requirements in the
areas of career and technical
education and dual-credit
coursework in grades 9-12 only
*Ability to fill hard-to-staff courses in career and technical education
with candidates who have industry experience
*Opportunity to more easily hire credentialed postsecondary
instructors to also teach 9-12 dual-credit courses
*Opportunity to increase the number of career and technical and
dual-credit course offerings to high school students
Local Innovation Plan Tenets
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Flexibility Concerns Mitigation Strategies
Flexibility to
begin the school
year before the
fourth Monday in
August
*Communication to stakeholders regarding
new calendar
*Don’t want to start too early so as to
imbalance the semesters
*Don’t want to adversely affect the budget
*Calendar changes may not go into effect
until 2018-19 school year;
Communications team will immediately
begin communication campaign regarding
potential changes upon adoption of Local
Innovation Plan by Board of Trustees
*Winter Break should serve as the
midpoint of the school year
*Adjustments to the student and staff
calendars must be budget-neutral
Local Innovation Plan Tenets
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Flexibility Concerns Mitigation Strategies
Flexibility on
teacher
certification
requirements in
the areas of
career and
technical
education and
dual-credit
coursework in
grades 9-12 only
*Don’t want to overlook certified teachers
for vacant positions
*Don’t want to lower barriers to entry so
much so that there are little to no
prerequisites to teach – desire to ensure
quality
*Worry around level of preparation of non-
certified instructors – desire to ensure that
non-certified instructors are well-prepared
*The District must first consider high
quality, certified teachers
*The District must establish criteria for
selection of high quality, non-certified
candidates
*The District must implement a rigorous
on-boarding and training program for
newly-hired, non-certified instructors
Future Amendments
The Local Innovation Plan (LOI) is valid for five years
from the date of adoption.
The LOI may be amended or changed after adoption
only by the same process that is required to create
the original plan.
Any proposed amendments must be submitted to a
District of Innovation committee and then to the
school board for approval by a super-majority vote of
the board.
After five years, all sections of the plan must be
reviewed and the original adoption process must be
followed to renew a plan.12