Abilene ISD board reopens District of Innovation process, setting timeline for committee work

The Abilene ISD board unanimously approved a resolution to reopen the district’s District of Innovation (DOI) plan, which allows local adaptations to certain Texas Education Code requirements.

Allison Sams, Associate Superintendent for Development of Human Resources, told the board the DOI designation allows districts to adopt limited exemptions similar to charter schools—examples she gave included a uniform school start date, flexibility in instructional minutes for professional development, waivers for certain class-size reporting, and locally developed teacher appraisal instruments. She said the existing DOI plan dates to 2019 and that reopening the plan now would restart a new five-year approval window if the board approves a final plan.

Sams described a three-meeting committee process to draft and revise the plan, posting requirements (the plan must be posted on the district website for at least 30 days), notification to the commissioner 15 days before a board vote, and limits that DOI cannot remove requirements for state testing, special education or bilingual education rules, or change graduation requirements.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about which items must be removed due to legislation, whether the resolution was permanent and how long the DOI would remain in effect; Sams said the resolution simply starts the process and that final board approval would occur in January. The board then voted 6–0 to adopt the resolution and later approved appointments to a District of Innovation planning committee.

Ending: With the resolution adopted, the district will convene the planning committee and follow the committee and public posting steps described by staff before bringing a final DOI plan back to the board for approval.