On Tuesday night, April 11, the Spring ISD board of trustees adopted its District of Innovation, or DOI, plan, which will be implemented in the 2017-18 school year and remain in effect through the 2021-22 school year. The program gives school districts greater flexibility in areas such as planning, establishing class sizes and attendance policies.

Since the DOI program was approved by the state in 2015 and implemented in 2016, more than 45 school districts across the state have attained a DOI designation.

Exemptions Spring ISD plans to implement include: 1. Minimum attendance for credit or grade Students are normally required to be in attendance for 90 percent of the days for which a class is offered. With this exemption, school officials said students can pursue learning opportunities such as internships and mentorships outside of the classroom. 2. Staff development requirements This exemption will allow teachers to attend district-wide training sessions, replacing a requirement for campus-based teacher training. 3. Class size requirements State law requires classes in grades K-4 be limited to 22 students for each teacher. An exemption would allow the district to use a different class size formula to account for its high mobility rate without needing a waiver from the Texas Education Agency, according to the district. 4. First and last days of instruction Current regulations prohibit a district’s annual first day of school from starting before the fourth Monday in August or ending before May 15. The district’s exemption would give it flexibility in those dates, which officials said is particularly needed with students in dual credit courses who follow the schedules of colleges and universities.