The Spring ISD board of trustees adopted its District of Innovation plan on April 11, giving it more control over areas such as class size and determining the first day of the school year.

The exemptions the district has outlined in its plan will begin in the 2017-18 school year and will remain in effect through the 2021-22 school year.

Since the DOI program was approved by the state in 2015 with the passage of House Bill 1842 and implemented in 2016, more than 45 school districts across the state have attained a DOI designation, giving them access to the flexibilities offered at charter schools.

“This is an opportunity for districts to do things differently than what the state mandates,” board Vice President Chris Bell said.

Board members said the additional flexibility will help the district implement its five-year strategic improvement plan, Every Child 2020, by providing exemptions from several state mandates. Among the changes SISD has requested are exemptions from rules that restrict students from receiving credit for activities outside of the classroom and rules that require teachers to receive training on the campuses where they teach.

The district’s plan would relieve schools of the requirement that students be present in the classroom 90 percent of the time to receive credit. This additional flexibility is needed by students who receive dual credit through college classes and students involved in other programs outside of the traditional classroom, district officials said.

“We really cannot teach kids the way we taught them 200 years ago,” board President Deborah Jensen said. “Seat time doesn’t equal learning, and we have some innovative programs that require internships, projects and things that take kids out of the classroom.”

Superintendent Rodney Watson said teacher development is a district priority, and training will be more efficient and affordable if teachers can receive instruction at any location in the district.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity the [Texas Education Agency] has given us,” Watson said. “We want to focus on opportunities around professional development [because] teachers are our greatest resource.”

Now that the DOI plan is approved, the academic calendar for 2017-18 will be finalized before the end of the current school year, district officials said.

DOI designation could be revoked by the TEA if the district does not perform up to education and financial assessment standards.