Round Rock ISD and the Texas State Teachers Association agreed Thursday to settle a complaint the teachers union filed with the district in November regarding RRISD's district of innovation plan.
RRISD's board of trustees voted, 6-0, to approve several changes to the district's administrative policy governing its DOI designation and to dismiss the complaint. Trustee Suzi David was absent Thursday.
Earlier that day, the union agreed to drop the complaint,
which it sent Nov. 10 to RRISD Superintendent Steve Flores.
The DOI system, which was created by Texas lawmakers in 2015, allows school districts to adopt local innovation plans and exempt themselves from certain state regulations in the Texas Education Code. More than 200 Texas school districts have approved DOI plans since 2015, according to the Texas Education Agency.
RRISD approved its DOI plan in October and signaled it would pursue seven exemptions on laws governing 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 ratios for kindergarten through fourth grade that require one teacher for every 22 students; a Sept. 1 age deadline for 5-year-olds entering kindergarten; and requirements for teacher mentors.
In its complaint, the TSTA said the district violated state law in developing its DOI plan and argued the district did not have enough classroom teachers serving on a district level DOI development committee to meet requirements set by the state code. It also argued the membership makeup of a separate campus level DOI committee did not follow code provisions.
TSTA filed its complaint on behalf of Education Round Rock, a union of RRISD teachers and education professionals.
On Thursday, RRISD trustees stopped short of nullifying the district’s DOI designation, which the TSTA asked for in its complaint.
However, trustees did approve several changes to the district's initial plan:
- Kindergarten through fourth-grade class size ratios will not exceed 24-to-1 unless the district receives a special waiver from the TEA.
- Teachers in career and technical education classes hired through the DOI policy will need to hold an appropriate degree or industry certification.
- Foreign-language teachers who do not meet DOI policy qualifications can be hired as long as they demonstrate proficiency on an exam recognized by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
- RRISD will implement a three-year phased plan to enable children to enroll in kindergarten early when appropriate.
TSTA spokesperson Clay Robison said Friday the union maintains RRISD did not follow state law when developing its DOI plan, but the TSTA is satisfied with the settlement.
“We feel that with these changes that the district has agreed to that it’s a better DOI plan for students than the original plan that we felt was too open-ended,” Robison said.
RRISD trustees discussed the matter in a closed session Thursday before their vote.
“Thank you to the District of Innovation Committee, community stakeholders and the Round Rock ISD staff for working hard to complete this plan," RRISD board President Diane Cox said in a statement. "It is essential to listen to our community stakeholders and work together to ensure this plan is fit to serve all students, teachers, parents and employees."
