District Plans
District of Innovation
What is a District of Innovation?
House Bill 1842, passed by the 84th Legislature, provides local school districts the flexibility to write exemptions from certain provisions of the Texas Education Code. This plan of exemptions gives school districts flexibility within the regulations and gives the school more local control. To meet the criteria for a District of Innovation, schools must hold an accountability rating of “Met Standard” and a superior rating on the FIRST (Financial) report.
Process
The Hitchcock ISD Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution to initiate the process for the District to be designated as a District of Innovation (DOI), as required by TEC 12A.001.
Immediately following the adoption of the resolution, the district held a public hearing to receive feedback from the community regarding the DOI process along with the DOI Committee consisting of members from staff, parents, and community members.
On March 6, 2023, the committee met to collaborate, and edit the DOI plan for HISD. The DOI committee will hold a public meeting on March 6, 2023, to allow public comments before sending the plan to the Board of Trustees. On March 6, 2023, the committee also voted to adopt the plan and post it to the district website for the public to view. The plan remained posted from March 7, 2023 - April 23, 2023, the 30 days required by TEC 12A.005. The plan was presented to the Board of Trustees for final approval at the April 24, 2023, regular monthly meeting, and the Board voted unanimously to approve the plan.
In an effort to provide more local control, and to give Hitchcock ISD flexibility to meet community and district needs, the DOI Committee wrote the following exemption plan which will be implemented for a period of 5 years, from May 2023 to April 2028.