Celina ISD wants five more years of the flexibility it has had since 2016 to set its own school calendar, staff career courses with industry professionals and manage elementary class sizes without filing state waivers.
Renewal of the district's District of Innovation plan is an action item for the school board's regular meeting Monday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. at Moore Middle School's library. The current plan runs out Jan. 31, 2027. If trustees approve the renewal, the new term would run from Jan. 31, 2027, to Jan. 31, 2032. Adoption requires a yes vote from two-thirds of the board.
What the plan exempts the district from
The district's board summary lists six exemptions from the Texas Education Code:
- School calendar. State law bars districts from starting classes earlier than the fourth Monday of August or ending the year before May 15. The plan lets the district pick its own start date each year, which the district says lets students take college courses that begin in early June and allows a shortened first week.
- Teacher certification. The district may set its own qualifications for career and technical, STEM and in-demand dual credit courses so it can hire people with industry experience. The plan says the district still seeks certified staff where state law requires it.
- Probationary contracts. A new teacher's probationary contract can be extended twice more, a year at a time, for up to three school years, to give principals more time to judge classroom results. The one-year limit for experienced teachers stays in place.
- Elementary class sizes. State law caps prekindergarten through fourth grade classes at 22 students unless a district gets a waiver. The plan lets Celina monitor class size locally; the district says it staffs those grades at a 22-to-1 ratio.
- Transfer requests from peace officers and service members. When they ask to move their children, the requests go through the district's regular transfer process, which places students based on enrollment, staffing and resources.
- Grade retention. Before a parent's choice to have a child repeat a grade is final, the district requires a campus Grade Placement Review meeting.
How the renewal got here
A subcommittee reviewed the plan Sept. 3, and the district's Bobcat Council, its district-level planning committee, approved renewing it without changes on Sept. 9. The final version was posted on the district website Sept. 15.