Committee Substitute
for
H. B. 111
(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Originating in the Committee on Education.]
(May 17, 2010)
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-12 and §18A-2-12a of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the
evaluation of professional personnel in the public schools;
requiring state board to propose revisions to professional
personnel evaluations; requiring state board establishment of
task force; state board study of duties and responsibilities
of certain professional employees and time required; use and
reporting of study; task force reporting and recommendations;
prohibited use of evaluations of certain personnel; state
board reporting to legislative oversight commission; and
modifying related provisions to comport with amended
provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-2-12 and §18A-2-12a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-12. Performance evaluations of school personnel;
professional personnel evaluation process.
(a) The state board 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 for 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) 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) 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 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:
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
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 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) The state board shall propose a revision to the
professional personnel evaluation process in accordance with the
following:
_____(A) The state board shall conduct a study of the duties and
responsibilities required of school principals, and assistant
principals in schools where they are present, and the time required
to perform these duties and responsibilities. The state board shall present the study and its findings to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability;
_____(B) The state board shall form a task force on professional
personnel evaluations to advise it on needed revisions in state
board policy relating to professional personnel evaluations. The
task force shall be comprised of at least the following
representatives of the relevant stakeholders: County boards,
superintendents, principals, teachers, parents and the Legislature;
_____(C) The task force shall be provided a copy of the study and
its findings required in paragraph (A) of this subdivision and shall
consider them in making its recommendations to the state board for
the revision of state board policy relating to professional
personnel evaluations. The recommendations of the task force also
shall include recommendations related to the personnel time required
to accomplish the process and purposes of the professional personnel
evaluations at each level of personnel;
_____(D) The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability as requested on its progress
on revising its policies related to professional personnel
evaluations and shall submit its proposed revised policy to the
Commission along with any additional recommendations it may have on
related changes necessary to accomplish the process and purposes of
the professional personnel evaluations at each level of personnel
;
and
_____(E) Personnel evaluations of teachers, principals and assistant principals may not be used as a factor in determining monetary
incentives or compensation.
(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 July 1, 2003, 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
July 1, 1994, 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.
§18A-2-12a. Statement of policy and practice for the county boards
and school personnel to minimize possible
disagreement and misunderstanding.
(a) The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) The effective and efficient operation of the public schools
depends upon the development of harmonious and cooperative
relationships between county boards and school personnel;
(2) Each group has a fundamental role to perform in the
educational program and each has certain separate, distinct and
clearly defined areas of responsibility as provided in chapters
eighteen and eighteen-a of this code; and
(3) There are instances, particularly involving questions of
wages, salaries and conditions of work, that are subject to
disagreement and misunderstanding between county boards and school
personnel and may not be so clearly set forth.
(b) The purpose of this section is to establish a statement of
policy and practice for the county boards and school personnel, as follows, in order to minimize possible disagreement and
misunderstanding:
(1) County boards, subject to the provisions of this chapter,
chapter eighteen of this code and the policies and rules of the
state board, are responsible for the management of the schools
within their respective counties. The powers and responsibilities
of county boards in setting policy and in providing management are
broad, but not absolute;
(2) The school personnel shares the responsibility for putting
into effect the policies and practices approved by the county board
that employs them and the school personnel also have certain rights
and responsibilities as provided in statute, and in their contracts;
(3) School personnel are entitled to meet together, form
associations and work in concert to improve their circumstances and
the circumstances of the schools;
(4) County boards and school personnel can most effectively
discharge their total responsibilities to the public and to each
other by establishing clear and open lines of communication. School
personnel should be encouraged to make suggestions, proposals and
recommendations through appropriate channels to the county board.
Decisions of the county board concerning the suggestions, proposals
and recommendations should be communicated to the school personnel
clearly and openly;
(5) Official meetings of county boards are public meetings.
School personnel are free to attend the meetings without fear of reprisal and should be encouraged to attend;
(6) All school personnel are entitled to know how well they are
fulfilling their responsibilities and should be offered the
opportunity of open and honest evaluations of their performance on
a regular basis and in accordance with the provisions of section
twelve of this article. All school personnel are entitled to
opportunities to improve their job performance prior to the
termination or transfer of their services. Decisions concerning the
promotion, demotion, transfer or termination of employment of school
personnel, other than those for lack of need or governed by specific
statutory provisions unrelated to performance, should be based upon
the evaluations, and not upon factors extraneous thereto. All
school personnel are entitled to due process in matters affecting
their employment, transfer, demotion or promotion; and
(7) All official and enforceable personnel policies of a county
board must be written and made available to its employees.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for annual
evaluations of professional personnel in schools.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.