The Texas State Teachers Association sent a complaint Thursday to Round Rock ISD Superintendent Steve Flores urging him to withdraw RRISD's recently approved District of Innovation designation. TSTA argues the district violated the Texas Education Code when RRISD developed a DOI plan that district trustees approved in October to exempt the district from seven code provisions, including requirements for teacher certification and classroom sizes. The association's complaint argues RRISD did not have enough classroom teachers serve on a district-level DOI development committee to meet requirements set by the state code. The complaint also argues the membership makeup of a separate campus-level DOI committee did not follow code provisions. TSTA filed the complaint on behalf of Education Round Rock, a union of RRISD education professionals. Clay Robison, a spokesperson for the association, said this is the first time to his knowledge that TSTA has filed a complaint against a district over a DOI designation. TSTA lawyer Russell Ramirez has asked Flores to schedule a hearing regarding the association's complaint. "We hope they will nullify this," Robison said about RRISD's DOI designation. Corey Ryan, RRISD's executive director of communications and community relations, issued a statement Thursday regarding the complaint: "Round Rock ISD pursued District of Innovation to help classroom teachers and schools better serve students through local control and flexibility. The decision to explore the District of Innovation designation was with purpose, with community input, and with classroom teaching at the core of all decisions. We look forward to working with our teachers, and to writing local policies that benefit families and continue to protect teachers. We will work with TSTA-Education Round Rock to address their concerns, to make sure that all proper procedures are followed and to support teachers and families." RRISD's DOI designation includes exemptions on teacher certifications for dual credit, career and technical education and foreign language courses; minimum minutes of instruction; minimum attendance for class credit; calendar requirements for the first and last day of school; class size ratio requirements for kindergarten through fourth grade; a Sept. 1 age deadline for 5-year-olds entering kindergarten; and requirements for teacher mentors. TSTA's complaint urges RRISD to "set aside this plan and declare it a nullity," the association noted in a news release. “We object to the plan in general, and we specifically oppose the waiver of class size limits. Larger classes diminish the amount of education each student receives,” TSTA's complaint states. “We further object to the removal of the requirement that teachers be certified. Certification is a clear indication of competence. It should not be replaced with a system that is arbitrary and subject to cronyism." The DOI system was created through Texas House Bill 1842, which state lawmakers passed in 2015. The law allows  school districts to adopt local innovation plans and exempt themselves from certain state regulations that were previously only available to charter schools. Several school districts in Travis and Williamson counties have decided to pursue DOI designation in recent months, including Austin ISD, which voted Monday to pursue a DOI plan. Districts that have favored DOI designations say they allow more flexibility in hiring and scheduling practices. But teachers have criticized the concept as too far-reaching and a risk to educators' job security, particularly if a DOI district chooses to exempt itself from teacher contracts and benefits.