H. B. 3264
(By Delegate Lane)
[Introduced February 23, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, performance evaluations of school personnel
generally; and including official observations of employee
performance as a part of an evaluation of school personnel.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-12. Performance evaluations of school personnel; official
observations; professional personnel evaluation
process.
(a) The state board shall adopt a written system for the
official observation and evaluation of the employment performance
of personnel, which system shall be applied uniformly by county boards of education in the official observation and evaluation of
the employment performance of personnel employed by the board.
(b) The system adopted by the state board for official
observation and evaluating the employment performance of
professional personnel shall be in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(c) For purposes of this section, "professional personnel",
"professional" or "professionals", means professional personnel as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter.
(d) For purposes of this section, an "official observation
form" is any form whether paper or electronic, approved by the
county board of education as an official observation form,
developed by the state board in active consultation with the center
for professional development, to include the standards for
observation and evaluation and the criteria to be used to determine
whether the performance of each professional meets the standards.
(e)For purposes of this section, "official observation" means
to make one or more observations of an employee using an official
observation form with the intent to gather data to determine
whether more official observations are warranted and to provide
data to construct a valid evaluation.
(f) For purposes of this section, "evaluation" means to
analyze the data gathered on the relevant official observation
forms for the purpose of determining whether the performance of each professional meets the standards as set forth by the state
board in conjunction with the center for professional development.
(g) For the purpose of this section, "official evaluation
form" is a form on which the elements of the evaluation are
recorded. The contents of this form shall reflect the standards
and criteria developed by the state board in conjunction with the
center for professional development and shall be approved as an
official evaluation form by the county board of education.
(d) (h) In developing the professional personnel performance
evaluation system, and amendments thereto, the state board shall
consult with the Center for Professional Development created in
article three-a of this chapter. The center shall participate
actively 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 meets such standards.
(e) (i) The performance, observation and 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 official observations,
shall be on a regular basis and of a frequency and duration as to insure the collection of sufficient, credible and empirical data
from which reliable conclusions and findings may be drawn:
Provided, That no fewer than one official observation shall be made
for each school personnel per year. Provided, however, That the
state board in consultation with the center for professional
development may require additional official observations as is
deemed appropriate.
(2) (3) 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 Professional
personnel performance evaluations shall be conducted on a regular
basis: Provided, That for school personnel with five or more years
of experience, who have not received an unsatisfactory rating,
evaluations shall be conducted no more than once every three years
unless the principal determines based on the required yearly
official observation and other observations, an evaluation for a
particular school employee is needed more frequently: Provided,
however, That for classroom teachers with five or more years of
experience who have not received an unsatisfactory rating, an
evaluation shall be conducted or professional growth and
development plan required only when the principal determines based
on the required yearly official observation along with other official or documented observations it to be necessary for a
particular classroom teacher, or when a classroom teacher exercises
the option of being evaluated at more frequent intervals;
(3) (4) The evaluation shall serve the following purposes:
(A) Serve as a basis for the improvement of the performance of
the personnel in their assigned duties;
(B) Provide an indicator of satisfactory performance for
individual professionals;
(C) Serve as documentation for a dismissal on the grounds of
unsatisfactory performance; and
(D) Serve as a basis for programs to increase the professional
growth and development of professional personnel;
(4) (5) 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. Effective the first day of July, two thousand three and
thereafter, professional personnel, as appropriate, shall
demonstrate competency in the knowledge and implementation of the
technology standards adopted by the state board. If a professional
fails to demonstrate competency, in the knowledge and
implementation of these standards, he or she will be subject to an
improvement plan to correct the deficiencies; and
(5) (6) 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.
(f) A professional whose performance is 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.
(g) No person may evaluate professional personnel for the
purposes of this section unless the 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 the 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.
(h) Any professional 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 may be taken
concerning the original performance evaluation. If the evaluation
shows that the professional is still not performing satisfactorily,
the evaluator either shall make additional recommendations for
improvement or may recommend the dismissal of the professional in
accordance with the provisions of section eight of this article.
(i) Lesson plans are intended to serve as a daily guide for
teachers and substitutes for the orderly presentation of the
curriculum. Lesson plans may not be used as a substitute for
observations by an administrator in the performance evaluation
process. A classroom teacher, as defined in section one, article
one of this chapter, may not be required to post his or her lesson
plans on the internet or otherwise make them available to students
and parents or to include in his or her lesson plans any of the
following:
(1) Teach and re-teach strategies;
(2) Write to learn activities;
(3) Cultural diversity;
(4) Color coding; or
(5) Any other similar items which are not required to serve as
a guide to the teacher or substitute for daily instruction; and
(j) The Legislature finds that classroom teachers must be free
of unnecessary paper work so that they can focus their time on
instruction. Therefore, classroom teachers may not be required to
keep records or logs of routine contacts with parents or guardians.
(k) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit
classroom teachers from voluntarily posting material on the
Internet.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include official
observations of employee performance as a part of an evaluation of
school personnel.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.