Van Alstyne ISD will have a public hearing on September 19th before the regular board meeting to discuss the possibility of becoming a “District of Innovation”. The District of Innovation concept was passed into law by the 84th legislative session in House Bill 1842. The law allows traditional independent school districts to access most of the flexibilities available to Texas' open enrollment charter schools.
Districts who decide to pursue a District of Innovation plan are able to analyze specific innovations in curriculum, instruction, governance, parent or community involvement, school calendar, budgeting, or other ideas. An innovation plan also allows a school district to gain exemption from many Texas Education Code requirements. Essentially, an innovation plan allows for schools and communities to have local control on the best ways to educate their children.
The Board of Trustees will consider adopting a resolution to consider becoming a District of Innovation. After the public hearing, the Board will determine if they want to continue the process of becoming a District of Innovation. If the Board determines to proceed, they will appoint a committee to develop a local innovation plan. The committee would consist of administrators, teachers, board members, parents, and community members. This team would be charged with evaluating the state mandated school start date, minimum minutes of instruction, class size ratio, the 90 percent attendance rule, teacher certification, teacher contracts, teacher benefits, and the teacher/principal evaluation system. After considering these items, the Innovation team would present their findings to all three campuses, the District Improvement Committee and make their final recommendations to the Board for approval.