Frisco ISD Board of Trustees will be holding a public hearing Thursday at 6:00 p.m in the FISD Administration building to discuss the possibility of developing Frisco into a District of Innovation.

“At the public forum on Thursday, we will present the District of Innovation process and we will go over the highlights of the plan and the remaining timeline and then take any public comments, input or questions,” Director of Special Projects Shana McKay-Wortham said. “If the Board approves the plan FISD will become a District of Innovation and that will give the District the opportunity to better meet the needs of FISD students, parents and the community it serves.”

The proposal to become a District of Innovation is an option provided by Texas Education Code chapter 12A and would give Frisco ISD more options in how certain things are done.

“[This] allows traditional independent school districts to access most of the flexibilities available to Texas’ open enrollment charter schools by becoming a designated as a District of Innovation,” states Texas Education Code chapter 12A.

The process began months ago with the naming of a specialized group.

“Members of the Local Innovation Committee were appointed by trustees and District leaders to evaluate if and how FISD could benefit from becoming a District of Innovation,” FISD said in a committee proposal. “The group met twice in late November to discuss and draft the proposed plan, which must now be approved by the District Improvement Team (DIT) and School Board.”

The TEA does not have to approve this plan, but they do still have authoritative status.

“The entire 15-member committee is in support of the plan and is bringing this forward for public review and input prior to voting by the District Improvement Team and the Board,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jeremy Lyon said in a committee proposal. “They did a very thorough job and I commend them for their work.”