Sharyland ISD board approves District of Innovation amendment, TSIA prep and CTE equipment purchases
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Summary
Trustees approved an amendment to the district's District of Innovation plan to allow district-issued certificates for some CTE and nontraditional foreign language teachers, authorized TSIA teacher and student preparation through Princeton Review, and approved purchase of HVAC and welding equipment for CTE programs.
The Sharyland Independent School District board on May 20 approved a set of measures aimed at expanding career-technical education and streamlining college-readiness pathways.
The board unanimously adopted an amendment to the district's District of Innovation plan to seek exemptions from specified Texas Education Code teacher-certification provisions for some Career and Technical Education (CTE), STEM and programming-as-language courses. Jennifer, a staff member, told the board the amendment will request exemption from provisions cited as TEC 21.003 and TEC 21.057(a–e) for teacher certification in those specialty areas. She said special-education and bilingual staff will continue to follow State Board for Educator Certification requirements.
“Last year, you all approved the renewal of our District Of Innovation Plan for adjustment to the calendar. This year, we are bringing to you an amendment ... to seek an exemption to the TEC codes ... primarily for CTE, STEM, and language other than English,” Jennifer said. Board members asked clarifying questions about safeguards and state reporting; administration said district-issued eligibility statements and expectations to become certified would be filed with the state for any district-issued certificates.
The board also approved purchasing TSIA (Texas Success Initiative) teacher training and student ebooks from Princeton Review to prepare students and staff for the TSIA assessment. Administration identified the purchase as part of an initiative tied to the Teacher Incentive Allotment expansion and cited a change by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that makes dual-credit eligibility increasingly tied to TSIA, SAT or ACT benchmarks. The motion to approve Princeton Review was passed 7-0.
Separately, trustees approved purchases of CTE equipment: HVAC equipment from cooperative vendor Advanced Technologies for $87,966 and welding equipment from Coastal Welding Supply for $141,002.80. The administration said the purchases will be funded from CTE general funds and will support programs at both high schools; staff also said they are exploring opportunities to purchase used classroom sets from a neighboring district that is consolidating campuses.
The board also approved, on the consent agenda, a dual-credit memorandum of understanding with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for the 2025–27 cycle and other items that administrators said would support expanded college and career pathways. All motions in this group passed 7-0.
Ending: Administration said the District of Innovation amendment and the vendor purchases are intended to broaden program offerings and to give students multiple pathways to earn dual-credit and workforce credentials.
