On Monday night the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD board of trustees adopted a district of innovation plan that will begin with the 2017-18 school year and end with the 2021-22 school year.

The district of innovation, or DOI, concept gives independent school districts most of the flexibility available to Texas’ open-enrollment charter schools. Some of that flexibility includes being able to choose the first day of class, minutes of instruction per day, class-size ratios, and teacher certification and experience.

The DOI concept was passed by the 84th Texas Legislature.

In April, GCISD trustees passed a resolution authorizing the district to pursue a DOI designation. After passing a resolution, districts are required to pass a local innovation plan, which identifies the Texas Education Code provisions from which the district wants to be exempted. 

One of those provisions GCISD will be exempt from pertains to the rule that does not allow a school district to begin school before the fourth Monday in August. 

GCISD will begin school on the third Monday in August—Aug. 21.

Other provisions GCISD chose to be exempt from include minutes of instruction per day/per year and teacher certification and field-based experience.

To find out why GCISD chose to be exempt from these provisions, click here.