Robinson ISD District of Innovation Plan Introduction HB 1842 was passed during the 84 th Texas Legislative Session in Spring 2015, and provides Texas public school districts the opportunity to be designated as Districts of Innovation. To access these flexibilities, a school district must adopt an innovation plan, as set forth in the Texas Education Code Chapter 12A. Robinson ISD Timeline Board Resolution TEC 12A.001(c)(1) November 16, 2016 Public hearing by school board TEC December 14, 2016 12A.002(a) Board appointment of committee December 14, 2016 TEC12A.002(b)(2), 12A.003 Plan posted online March 16, 2017 Notification sent to Commissioner April 13, 2017 Committee holds public meeting and vote March 20, 2017 School board approval April 17, 2017 Plan in effect 2017-2018 school year until 2021-2022 school year Term The District of Innovation Plan will become effective with the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year and will remain in effect for five years, through the 2021-2022 school year, unless terminated or amended earlier by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the law. Any amendment to the Innovation Plan must follow the same process as the plan development. The District of Innovation Committee would consider any proposed amendment(s). Any amendment(s) would require majority approval of the District of Innovation Committee, a majority approval of the District Site-Based Committee, and posting on the district website for 30 days. A 2/3 vote by the Board of Trustees would be required for final approval of any amendment(s). 1
District of Innovation Planning Committee and District Site Based Committee Member Name District/Community Role Michael Hope Superintendent Tim VanCleave Assistant Superintendent Colette Pledger Chief Academic Officer Linda Ringo Teacher, Robinson Primary Diana Newton Teacher, Robinson Primary Sara Atwell Teacher, Robinson Elementary Dusty Mathis Teacher, Robinson Elementary Cece Lively Holly Lippe John-Henry Keane Amber Clemons Teacher, Robinson Junior High Elizabeth Thigpen Teacher, Robinson Junior High Lisa Posey Teacher, Robinson High School Monica Johnson Sped Counselor Lauren Brown Ashley Sepulveda Matt Shelton Brooks Kimmey Community Member Phil Jones Business Representative Sara Laughlin Principal, Robinson Intermediate Shelly Chudej Principal, Robinson Junior High Proposed Exemptions The following are provisions of the Texas Education Code that inhibit the goals of the district and from which the district seeks to exempt itself through adoption of the District of Innovation Plan. Uniform Start Date (TEC 25.0811) Current Provision State law currently prohibits school districts from starting class before the fourth Monday in August, unless they are year-round districts. To allow for a calendar that fits the local needs of our community, based on parent and staff input, that considers the option of moving the mandatory start date which would better benefit our students. 2
New Teacher Probationary Contracts (TEC Sec. 21.102 (Probationary Contracts)) State law currently does not allow the probationary period for a teacher that has been employed as a teacher in public education for at least five of the previous eight years. Robinson ISD may issue a probationary contract of up to two years for new employees that are experienced teachers, counselors, nurses, or administrators that have been employed in public education for at least five of the last eight previous years. This will allow the district more time to evaluate a staff member s effectiveness because current timelines demand that employment decisions must be made prior to the end-of-year evaluations. Student Discipline (TEC Sec 37.007(c), 37.010(b)) Current statute states that a student may be expelled if the student engages in documented serious misbehavior while on the program campus despite documented behavioral interventions. A student placed in DAEP who engages in documented persistent misbehavior while on the DAEP campus, despite documented behavioral interventions, may be removed from class and expelled. Teacher Certification (TEC 21.003, 21.053, 21.057 and 19TAC Part 7 Chapter 231 Subchapters A, B, C, D, E, and G) Current Provision: TEC 21.003 states that a person may not be employed as a teacher, teacher intern or teacher trainee, librarian, educational aide, administrator, educational diagnostician, or school counselor by a school district unless the person holds an appropriate certificate or permit issued by the appropriate state agency. To best serve Robinson ISD students and community needs, decisions on certification will be handled locally: An individual certified to teach through grade six would be allowed to teach courses in grades seven and/or eight. Allow for greater flexibility in determining appropriate CTE experience in order to teach a CTE course. 3
Allow a teacher to teach one class out of field in an area that the teacher has college course work and/or expertise. Allow a teacher certified to teach elementary reading be a reading teacher of record for middle and/or high school students. Length of School Day (TEC 25.081, 25.082 ) Current Provision State law currently requires that all school days must be 420 minutes long each day (including intermissions and recess) to count for ADA (average daily attendance) calculations and funding purposes, and to accumulate instructional minutes towards the 75,600 minutes required annually. Districts must submit any request for a waiver for an early-release day at least 31 days in advance of the target date for the early release. The request for a waiver must go through the online TEAL secure environment and if the waiver is approved, the early release day must be at least 4 hours. Exempting completely from the 420-minute requirement would give the district a significant amount of local control to: Schedule non-instructional days into the calendar to allow teachers to engage in targeted, relevant professional development. Build in the time for teachers to collaborate in PLCs (professional learning communities) to develop lessons, review student data, and collaborate with peers to implement instructional strategies. Build in the time for student-parent conferences, campus meetings, and other campus needs. Teacher Contract Days (TEC 21.401) Current law requires a teacher who is on a 10-month contract work an equivalent of 187 days. In an attempt to align the teacher days to the 75,600 minutes required of students, the district would have the option to reduce the amount of contract days with no effect on teacher salaries. Minimum Attendance for Class Credit or Final Grade (TEC 25.092) State law mandates a student may not be given credit or a final grade for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered. In addition, if a student is in attendance greater than 75 percent and less than 90 percent, credit or a final grade may be given for the class if the student completes a plan approved by the campus administrator and meets the instructional requirements of the class. 4
Robinson ISD will provide methods for students to complete graduation requirements through innovative and flexible design such as seminars, blended learning or a combination of both with the ability for creative student scheduling as approved and created by a campus attendance committee, which will include the campus principal. Inter-district Transfers (TEC 25.036) Currently, under Texas Education Code 25.036, a district may choose to accept, as transfers, students who are not entitled to enroll in the district, but TEC 25.036, has been interpreted to require a transfer to be for a period of one school year. Robinson ISD maintains a transfer policy under FDA (Local) requiring nonresident students wishing to transfer to file a transfer application each school year. In approving transfer requests, the availability of space and instructional staff, availability of programs and services, the student s disciplinary history records, work habits, and attendance records are also evaluated. Transfer students are expected to follow the attendance requirements, rules, and regulations of the district. TEC 25.036 has been interpreted to establish the acceptance of a transfer as a one-year commitment by the district. The district is seeking to eliminate the provision of a one-year commitment in accepting transfer applicants. On rare occasions, student behavior warrants suspension (in or out of school), placement in a disciplinary alternative program, or expulsion. In addition, student attendance may fall below the TEA truancy standard. In these cases, Robinson ISD seeks exemption from the one-year transfer commitment and the ability to revoke a transfer, during the year, if needed. Teacher Mentors (TEC 21.458) Statute requires that mentors have three or more years of experience. This limits the number of teachers who are allowed to serve as mentors. Robinson ISD would like to allow campus administration and the district local control in determining who is allowed to serve as mentors based on skill, experience in the subject matter, and their ability to share knowledge with novice teachers. 5