The Austin ISD board of trustees voted to approve the development of a District of Innovation plan Monday, a move which will grant AISD schools flexibility normally exclusive to open-enrollment charter schools.

The next step is to create a committee to develop a plan specifically tailored to AISD that will outline what laws the district would like to be exempt from and whether those exemptions will apply to the district as a whole or to specific schools.

“I’m really excited we are going to move forward with this,” board Secretary Julie Cowan said. “This fits in really nicely with our desire to reinvent urban education.”

Once written, the plan will need to be approved by the District Advisory Council, followed by a two-thirds majority of the board. Upon approval, the plan will be in place for five years, however, it can be amended at any point in time through a majority vote of the board.

Passed in 2015, Texas House Bill 1842 allows for the creation of Districts of Innovation, a designation which gives a school district the ability to adopt a plan that exempts it from certain state laws, including site-based decision making, school start date, school day, class size, attendance rules, discipline procedures, contracts, appraisals, and other legal requirements.

Across Texas, school districts are opting to become innovation zones. Round Rock ISD recently approved a District of Innovation plan, while Georgetown and Lake Travis ISDs are in the process of adopting plans as well.

Superintendent Paul Cruz suggested that board members submit nominations for committee members to him by Friday. The committee will be made up of 23 to 25 representatives from across the district. Members will include community members, non-AISD residents, representatives from civic organizations, students, parents, and AISD teachers and administrators.

“This is a new opportunity to look at some possibilities and the waiver process of some key elements,” Cruz said. “This poses the question to the community by creating a committee to review it and bring back to the board a plan of action.”

Trustees Yasmin Wagner and Edmund Gordon said district staff should come up with a framework of suggestions first.

“I propose the administration come up with a plan and form a committee to look at that plan,” Gordon said. “I think the administration should be the architect of a plan which is open to change and assessment.”

Board president Kendall Pace agreed that administrative input should guide the committee’s process.

“I think some direction and ownership of first steps and a stake in the ground from the administration is needed,” Pace said.

The motion passed 7-0-1, with Vice President Paul Saldaña abstaining due to his desire to know more about the unintended consequences associated with District of Innovation exemptions.