Jacksboro ISD works on innovation plan

Jacksboro ISD moved forward with its District of Innovation Plan at its regular school board meeting Monday.

According to the Texas Association of School Boards, “The District of Innovation concept, passed by the 84th Legislative Session in House Bill 1842, gives traditional independent school districts most of the flexibilities available to Texas’ open-enrollment charter schools.”

It allows districts to obtain exemptions from certain provisions of the Texas Education Code.

“The bill allows each school district to reevaluate, free from bureaucratic obstacles, educator certifications, operational procedures, human resource policies and calendar requirements in order to meet the needs of their unique student populations and communities,” the JISD plan reads.

Of the numerous exemptions possible for districts to seek, JISD chose three.

The first involves probationary contracts for newly hired teachers who were employed as public educators or administrators for five of the previous eight years. The state education code only allows for a probationary contract for the first year. JISD’s District of Innovation Plan offers the strategy allowing for one additional probationary year.

“One year, in some cases, is a limited and insufficient amount of time to fully determine a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom,” the plan reads.

JISD’s second exemption involves the state’s uniform school start date. Under the code, districts may not begin student instruction before the fourth Monday of August.

“When considering calendars that could begin as late as August 28, the school district’s calendar has no additional time for local activities, professional development, extended holidays, and the ability to end before June,” the plan reads.

It further states a calendar extending into June negatively impacts students by conflicting with summer school, summer college courses and other summer programs.

The Jacksboro plan allows for a start date no earlier than the second Wednesday of August.

To read the complete article, see the March 24 edition of the Herald-Gazette.