District of Innovation
House Bill (HB) 1842, passed during the 84th Legislative Session, allows Texas school districts to pursue the designation of ‘District of Innovation,’ a provision that enables traditional independent school districts to access many of the flexibilities that are currently available to open-enrollment charter schools. House Bill 1842 was also intended to generate greater flexibility, local control, and innovation to better meet the needs of Texas students. Through the development and approval of a ‘Local Innovation Plan,’ a district may obtain certain exemptions from the Texas Education Code to advance their local strategic priorities.
On November 14, 2017, the McKinney ISD Board of Trustees officially launched the process of becoming a District of Innovation and later appointed a 17-member committee to write a Local Innovation Plan.