Leander ISD adopts District of Innovation amendment to expand local certification flexibility for CTE

The Leander ISD Board of Trustees voted 7–0 to adopt an amendment to the district’s District of Innovation (DOI) that allows the district to determine local certification requirements for Career and Technical Education (CTE) assignments.

Staff explained the change responds to statewide teacher shortages and the specific challenge of recruiting industry professionals who often lack state education certifications. The DOI amendment would permit the district to locally approve individuals with exceptional subject-matter or industry credentials to teach CTE courses while requiring targeted training, mentorship and district-established qualification standards.

Christy Diver, a parent and DWIC committee member, summarized the committee-level review: "As a subcommittee, we voted 12 for and 1 against to take it to the DWIC committee," and the DWIC committee then voted "29 for and 2 against to approve the amendment for the DOI." District staff told trustees the amendment would not apply to core academic subjects or special education and that employment contracts for individuals hired under this exemption would not be considered void solely because they lacked state certification.

District staff estimated the current issue of uncertified teachers could cost the district approximately $250,000 in lost CTE weighted funding for the 2025–26 school year if left unaddressed. Staff also described supports for locally certified CTE hires, including mentoring, instructional coaching and cross-district curriculum resources.

Trustees discussed the recommendation and then adopted the amendment as presented.