With a vote of 6-1 during its Feb. 14 meeting, the Fort Bend ISD board of trustees renewed the plan, which was set to expire at the end of the 2021-22 school year since the plan was first approved for the 2017-18 school year, according to a Feb. 14 FBISD agenda report.
With the renewal, the district will continue to be granted flexibility and exemptions from Texas Education Code sections, not only allowing FBISD flexibility in its school calendar but allowing the district to waive certain teaching certifications for hard-to-fill areas such as world languages, and career and technical education.
The plan also exempts FBISD from the 90% attendance rule requiring students to be in attendance 90% of the days the class is offered. This exemption is designed to meet student needs through alternate delivery models apart from a traditional classroom.
The attendance rule was a point of discussion among the board members on the heels of a report delivered by the district’s demographer, Population and Survey Analysts, which projected that next school year, out of a total of 88,512 resident students living in FBISD’s boundaries, 4,978 of those will be attending charter schools. This projection is higher than the number of students attending private schools, at 4,882.
“When I’m thinking about improving a District of Innovation Plan, especially that 90% rule, I’m wondering how we will actually utilize this in a way that we can perhaps be more attractive to someone who is not typically looking for the five-days-a-week, face-to-face school situation,” Position 1 Board Member Angie Hanan said.
Her sentiment was shared by Position 6 Board Member Kristen Davison Malone, who asked district officials if some students at the high school level with special circumstances could be accommodated.
According to district officials, as the renewed plan is implemented those concerns will be considered.
