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Introduced Version Senate Bill 208 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted


Senate Bill No. 208

(By Senators Facemyer, Bowman, Hunter, Caldwell, Deem and Redd)

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[Introduced February 22, 2001; referred to the Committee on Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article two, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the evaluation of performance of classroom teachers by adding a provision prohibiting the use of standardized test scores in that process.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article two, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

§18A-2-12. Performance evaluations of school personnel; professional personnel evaluation process.

(a) The state board of education shall adopt a written system for the evaluation of the employment performance of personnel, which system shall be applied uniformly by county boards of education in the evaluation of the employment performance of personnel employed by the board.
(b) The system adopted by the state board of education for evaluating the employment performance of professional personnel shall be in accordance with the provisions of this section. Professional personnel means professional personnel as defined in section one, article one of this chapter. In developing the professional personnel performance evaluation system, and amendments thereto, the state board shall consult with the professional development project of the center for professional development created in section three, article three-a of this chapter. The center shall actively participate with the state board in developing written standards for evaluation which clearly specify satisfactory performance and the criteria to be used to determine whether the performance of each professional personnel meets such standards.
The performance evaluation system shall contain, but shall not be limited to the following information:
(1) The professional personnel positions to be evaluated, whether they be teachers, substitute teachers, administrators, principals, or others;
(2) The frequency and duration of the evaluations, which shall be on a regular basis and of such frequency and duration as to insure the collection of a sufficient amount of data from which reliable conclusions and findings may be drawn;
(3) The purposes of the evaluation, which shall serve as a basis for the improvement of the performance of the personnel in their assigned duties, serve as an indicator of satisfactory performance for individual professional personnel and serve as documentation for a dismissal on the grounds of unsatisfactory performance, and serve as a basis for programs to increase the professional growth and development of professional personnel;
(4) The standards for satisfactory performance for professional personnel and the criteria to be used to determine whether the performance of each professional meets such standards and other criteria for evaluation for each professional position evaluated: and Provided, That student performance or scores on standardized tests may not be used as a criterion for evaluating the performance of individual classroom teachers; and
(5) Provisions for a written improvement plan, which shall be specific as to what improvements, if any, are needed in the performance of the professional and shall clearly set forth recommendations for improvements, including recommendations for additional education and training during the professional's recertification process.
A professional whose performance is deemed considered to be unsatisfactory shall be given notice of deficiencies. A remediation plan to correct deficiencies shall be developed by the employing county board of education and the professional. The professional shall be given a reasonable period of time for remediation of the deficiencies and shall receive a statement of the resources and assistance available for the purposes of correcting the deficiencies.
No person may evaluate professional personnel for the purposes of this section unless such that person has an administrative certificate issued by the state superintendent and has successfully completed education and training in evaluation skills through the center for professional development, or equivalent education training approved by the state board, which will enable the person to make fair, professional, and credible evaluations of the personnel whom the person is responsible for evaluating. After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, no person may be issued an administrative certificate or have an administrative certificate renewed unless the state board determines that such person has successfully completed education and training in evaluation skills through the center for professional development, or equivalent education and training approved by the state board.
Any professional personnel whose performance evaluation includes a written improvement plan shall be given an opportunity to improve his or her performance through the implementation of the plan. If the next performance evaluation shows that the professional is now performing satisfactorily, no further action shall be taken concerning the original performance evaluation. If such the
evaluation shows that the professional is still not performing satisfactorily, the evaluator shall either make additional recommendations for improvement or may recommend the dismissal of such the professional in accordance with the provisions of section eight of this article.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the use of student performance or score on standardized tests in an individual teacher's performance evaluations, since many factors leading to those scores are outside of the individual teacher's control and the tests were not made to be a valid indicator of individual teacher performance.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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