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Houston ISD is poised to extend its school year and begin classes earlier in August pending a vote set for Thursday from the district’s board of managers on a “District of Innovation” plan.

The proposal, which has been in the works since September, would grant HISD exemptions from seven state education laws. In addition to the changes to the academic calendar, the plan would allow HISD to adopt a new teacher evaluation system and hire uncertified high school instructors without seeking state waivers, among other changes.

Although the vast majority of Texas school districts have already received the District of Innovation designation, the potential changes have sparked controversy in HISD. 

Community members have voiced several concerns, including that the allowance of unlicensed instructors could lower academic standards. A previous version of the plan included several changes that were later removed in response to community pushback, such as increasing class size limits for elementary school and nixing a requirement that families be notified when their child’s teacher does not have a certification.

The scaled-back final proposal passed through a district committee, 41-11, in mid-November — a legally required step toward enacting a District of Innovation plan. HISD’s state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, smoothed the path to passage this fall by stacking the committee with District of Innovation supporters after the committee shot down a similar plan in 2021.

If the school board votes in favor of the plan Thursday by a two-thirds majority, its provisions will take effect immediately.

With HISD on the brink of becoming a District of Innovation — board members have moved largely in lockstep with Miles — here’s what will change:

Academic calendar

HISD’s school year likely will begin as soon as the first Monday in August next year, thanks to a provision of the plan that allows the district to skirt state law requiring the first day of class to be the fourth Monday in August.

Miles has previously said he would like the school year to have 185 days of classes. However, the proposal’s implementation guidelines — which are not legally binding — specify that next year’s calendar will not be longer than 180 days.

“We have 172 in this calendar, and that’s not enough,” Miles said early this school year.

Miles acknowledged that the change likely will result in teachers working a longer year. The proposal promises that a “competitive compensation package” will be offered to staff, though Miles’ administration has not detailed a proposal for additional pay.

Nearly all other Texas school districts that have received innovation status start their school year before the fourth Monday in August.

Uncertified high school teachers

HISD will be allowed to hire high school teachers that do not have certifications without seeking a waiver from the Texas Education Agency, as would be typically required, under the innovation plan.

Miles has said he sought the flexibility primarily for teachers that bring industry experience to the classroom, including in career and technical education, but do not have teaching credentials. The exemption would not apply to special education teachers, whose certification requirements cannot be waived under the law.

Certified teachers remain a preference, Miles said in early December, but he acknowledged the tight labor market might mean the district would make some exceptions. Miles also has argued research does not show a strong link between certification and teacher quality. Academic studies on the topic are mixed, with some backing his assertion and others contradicting it.

“Our goal is to have all certified teachers. That’s the goal. I can’t promise that we will, knowing the landscape out there,” Miles said. “The ones that are not certified, we want to make sure they go through a performance interview … so that we know they’re effective teachers.”

Some families have opposed allowing uncertified hires and said they don’t trust Miles will limit usage of the legal exemption to upper grades only, even though the proposal’s implementation guidelines say it will only be used for high school.

The implementation guidelines also say uncertified hires will have to earn a certification within two years of working in the district.

Teacher evaluation system

HISD will be allowed to implement a homegrown teacher appraisal system in the 2025-26 school year under the District of Innovation plan.

State law requires all Texas districts to evaluate their teachers using the ​​Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System, a tool created by the TEA. Miles tried to implement his own teacher evaluation this school year, but the change ran into legal challenges after the Houston Federation of Teachers sued.

If the plan passes, it will clear the way for Miles to implement his preferred performance evaluation measures for teachers two years from now. Those measures, if similar to the evaluation tool he introduced before the 2023-24 school year, will place a higher premium than the TEA-created evaluation system on instructional techniques Miles favors, such as soliciting student responses during class roughly every four minutes.

Staff training

HISD is seeking the flexibility to provide more regional and districtwide training sessions to staff.

Texas districts are expected to provide mostly campus-based training sessions to their teachers under state law. However, HISD officials said they are concerned that the model would lead to inconsistent practices across schools.

“Teachers at one campus are likely to receive entirely different training from their peers at another campus,” the District of Innovation proposal states.

The change comes amid a trend of more standardized practices in HISD under Miles, reversing decades of precedent and leaving many operational decisions to principals.

Minimum student attendance

The district hopes to grant high school principals the flexibility to award students grades even if the child missed more than 10 percent of class days.

State law says grades should be withheld from all K-12 students who attend less than 90 percent of class days, barring them from receiving credit, except in certain cases when principals provide an alternate assignment. But HISD officials argue the law fails to give students credit for classes and learning opportunities held outside of normal school hours.

HISD is seeking the ability to waive that requirement for high school students earning at least a C grade in all classes, with the expectation that schools maintain at least 70 percent attendance for all classes. The change will not affect elementary or middle schools.

College visit absences

HISD wants to allow high school juniors and seniors to spend more than two school days visiting higher educational institutions without an unexcused absence being recorded.

As it stands, high school students can be excused for no more than two days of post-secondary visits.

“Visits to accredited institutions play a pivotal role in a student’s decision on whether and where to attend college, and HISD seeks to do everything possible to remove barriers to post-secondary success for our graduates,” the District of Innovation plan states.

DAEP exceptions for vaping

A new state law enacted just before the start of this school year requires all students caught in possession of or selling e-cigarettes to be removed from their home campus and temporarily sent to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, or DAEP.

HISD is seeking flexibility to determine the punishment for students caught with vapes on a case-by-case basis.

The law does not differentiate between the substance vaporized by the devices, such as tobacco or cannabis, or consider the circumstances of the offense, such as whether the behavior is a repeated pattern or first-time occurrence.

“HISD believes this will unnecessarily remove students from the classroom, adversely impact student proficiency, and reverse the progress being made on behavior and discipline in our schools,” the proposal says.

Asher Lehrer-Small covers education for the Landing and would love to hear your tips, questions and story ideas about Houston ISD. Reach him at [email protected].

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