Georgetown ISD is exploring options to become a District of Innovation, or DOI, following the passage of a state law in 2015. The designation allows Texas public school districts to be exempt from certain regulations in the Texas Education Code.

This fall the GISD board of trustees will appoint a committee to draft an innovation plan that could outline which regulations the district would exempt itself from, GISD spokesperson Suzanne Marchman said. 

GISD started looking into the designation in spring 2015, Marchman said. The board, along with Superintendent Fred Brent, had heard of other districts beginning the process and wanted to learn more about the legislation, Brent said.

“In its simplest form, DOI allows school districts to pull together teachers,” Brent said. “Community members [and] parents [can] sit in a room collectively and assess where we are as a district, where we want to go and what ways the laws impacted by DOI [can] give us more opportunities to impact kids.”

The board unanimously approved a motion to pursue DOI designation at its July 25 meeting.

Several districts, including GISD, that are working toward the designation say allowing industry professionals to teach certain subjects could increase students’ career and college readiness. But classroom teachers argue the new law is too far-reaching and puts teacher job security and benefits at risk.

The DOI designation was created by Texas House Bill 1842, which state lawmakers passed in 2015. The bill allows school districts to adopt a local innovation plan that outlines more flexible operating models, including some exemptions from state regulations previously offered only to charter schools. Districts with a DOI designation can avoid requirements, such as class-size ratios, teacher certification and some student discipline provisions.

GISD is taking an interest in becoming a DOI for several reasons, including achieving specific goals laid out in its strategic plan, Marchman said.

The path to DOI

School districts that are interested in pursuing the designation are using the rules outlined by the Texas Education Agency to begin the process.

The TEA, which had been working on rules to define the designation process since the law went into effect, adopted them in late August, TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson said. The rules go into effect Sept. 13.

Culbertson said there are currently 23 school districts that have completed the proposed process to become DOI-designated.

GISD can become a DOI after it develops a local innovation plan with public input and receives approval from its elected district-level committee. The board of trustees will then vote on final approval of the plan before it is implemented.

A resolution to explore DOI designation was adopted at the May board meeting, Marchman said. A public hearing was then held in June, and in July the board unanimously voted to proceed with creating an innovation plan.

The board is currently working to put together a planning committee to draft the DOI plan for GISD.

“I would anticipate that at the September board meeting the trustees will appoint a [planning] committee,” Marchman said.

Although Marchman said she does not know who will serve on the planning committee that will craft the innovation plan, she said the board wants a diverse group to be involved.

“[The board] knows that they want teachers to be a part of the [planning] committee, Marchman said. “Obviously some district staff and academic folks. They can put some parents or business people on it. They have not said yet who all they will consider.”

After a planning committee is appointed and drafts an innovation plan, it will be presented to GISD’s existing district-level committee for approval. 

Brent said the district-level committee includes a cross-section of the district, including a representative from each campus, parents and community members.

“I truly want this to be organic,” Brent said. “I want to facilitate a conversation. Nothing happens without teacher, parent and community member input.”

The DOI plan is good for five years and can be modified during that time. Marchman said there is no official date for implementation if the designation is passed. However, the board will likely make the final vote on the DOI plan between January and March. If approved, the plan would be effective immediately, although GISD may not implement some pieces until the fall.

GISD seeks changes

One of the main changes the board is hoping to implement by becoming a DOI affects the districts career and technology education, or CTE department, Marchman said.

Chapter 21 of the TEA code governs teacher contracts and mandates that teachers must hold a certificate issued by the State Board for Educator Certification. But through DOI, Marchman said the board would be able to hire specialized professionals in the CTE field who might not be certified teachers.

“Who is to say that you can’t have a really great person whose whole career has been in, say, nursing, who is a nurse, who has practical experience?” Marchman said. “We may want to consider that person who is an expert in their field [to teach in the district].” 

Marchman said the board does not intend to allow all teachers to be without certification.

“I cannot speak for the board, but I can say with a lot of certainty, that they are not going to say, ‘We want to hire non-certified teachers in core courses’,” Marchman said. “But [in] some of those CTE fields, [such as] auto tech, it might make sense to hire some people who aren’t certified.”

Teachers voice concerns

Marchman said the only concern she has heard about DOI is from teachers.

At the June school board meeting, some teachers expressed concern about how a becoming a DOI could change employee contracts, class sizes and benefits.

Rebecca Nolen, a third-grade teacher at Pickett Elementary School, said the uncertainty of what could be implemented through DOI is what drives some teachers’ concerns.

“There [are] a whole lot of changes DOI [could bring],” Nolen said. “I have talked to a lot of my peers, and a lot of people are worried because they think if [the district] can do it, then they will do it. Change is worrying.”

Some of these concerns stem from the fact that a district with DOI designation could choose to exempt itself from teacher contracts and benefits, similar to public charter schools.

“That would mean that teachers would be at-will employees,” said Lonnie Hollingsworth, general counsel for Austin-based nonprofit Texas Classroom Teachers Association. “The district could basically let them go for any reason at all at any time.”

Marchman said there are several laws the designation could exempt that the board has indicated GISD is not interested in implementing, such as exempting itself from teacher contracts.

“There are some [DOI] laws that the board has said they are not interested in pursuing,” Marchman said. “Some of the things the teacher organizations came out against—those were not things that we ever wanted to pursue in the first place.”

Nolen said that although she understands some teachers’ concerns, she trusts that the district will do right by its students and teachers.

“I have been in the district for 10 years, [and] I have seen nothing but a progression toward positive changes,” Nolen said. “There is a lot of change happening in the world of education right now. To me DOI just kind of fits in with that.”

The board wants to help GISD reach the goals laid out in its strategic plan and continue to innovate learning, Marchman said.

“Everything we try to do is for the benefit of kids. We would not try and cut teacher benefits,” Marchman said. “We want the best of the best here. ”