Rejected by House 3-21-2013

SB359 HFA LANE ET AL 3-21

    Delegates Lane, Border-Sheppard, Hamrick, Espinosa, Householder, McCuskey, Shott, Cowles, Overington and Ellington move to amend the committee substitute in article two of chapter eighteen-a on page one hundred thirty four after line eighty five by inserting the following section:

Ҥ18A-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) In addition to any evaluation process developed in accordance with the requirements of this section or, which is currently in effect, the state board shall allow teachers to elect to undergo an alternative professional personnel evaluation process in accordance with the following:

    (A) The alternative evaluation process shall evaluate a teacher based upon a three factor test;

    (i) fifty percent of the weight of the evaluation shall be derived from student achievement; and

    (ii) twenty five percent of the weight shall be derived from student surveys; and

    (iii) twenty five percent of the weight shall be derived from classroom observation of the teacher by administrators and peers; which shall be comprised of the following:

    (I) two observations annually from an administrator;

    (II) one peer observation for one entire class period; and

    (III) three other peer observations of fifteen minutes each.

    (B) Teachers opting to receive this form of evaluation, shall be granted an additional bonus of one thousand dollars for each year in which they participate in this form of evaluation; this bonus is a one-time bonus not included in calculations toward retirement, and may not be construed to increase the base salary of a public employee;

    (C) Teachers opting to receive this form of evaluation, shall be granted an additional bonus of two thousand five hundred dollars for each year in which they participate in this form of evaluation, and in which their pupils meet or exceed student achievement standards; this bonus is a one-time bonus not included in calculations toward retirement, and may not be construed to increase the base salary of a public employee.

    (D)For purposes of this subsection, the relevant student achievement, student survey, and peer observations standards shall be hereafter developed by the State Board and these standards shall be conducted and determined in accordance with research findings from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cumulative research on measuring effective teaching.

    (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.”

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Adopted
Rejected