Teacher Evaluation Debate in Sacramento
Teacher evaluation and training is an area of interest among legislators this year, in part spurred by the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit. As we’ve mentioned, some Democrats have proposed bills this session that could make part of the appeal moot by changing the current law with respect to teacher evaluations.
Two measures would require locally negotiated best practices teacher evaluation systems, with various objectives required to be part of the evaluation. The nearly identical measures were introduced by Senate Education Committee Chair Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge), SB 499, and
Assembly Education Committee Chair O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) along with Speaker Atkins (D-San Diego), AB 575. Based on conversations with senior legislative staff, the intent is for both bills to set minimum state standards for teachers and administrators, with the metrics to be locally negotiated. Once amendments are agreed upon, the language will be amended into one or both of the bills and heard by their respective Education Committees, likely during the week of April 20th.
A third bill related to evaluation systems, AB 1495 by Assembly Budget Committee Chair Weber (D-San Diego), would add to the current evaluation system a requirement to evaluate certificated employees based on pupil achievement and pupil outcomes as described in the LCAP, and sets forth evidence that may be used to show pupil progress.
The politics of this issue are complicated by the pending appeal of the Vergara case. While the Legislature may want to pass legislation to potentially render a court decision moot, the Governor may not be willing to play along. His January budget proposed to spend $10 million dollars to strengthen teacher and administrator induction programs and data systems could be a signal that he doesn’t want to do anything legislatively on teacher evaluation right now. Look for these bills to move through the Legislature and ultimately come down to a decision by Governor Brown.
The following is a summary of all employee evaluation and training legislation:
Allows a licensed healing arts professional to receive one unit of continuing education credit for attending courses that result in the licensee becoming a certified instructor of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or the proper use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). Allows such licensees to receive two units of continuing education credits for conducting CPR or AED training sessions for employees of school districts and community college districts in the state.
Makes nonsubstantive changes to existing law that states the intent of the Legislature that the governing board of each school district establish a uniform system of evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated personnel within the school district.
Requires the governing board of each school district and charter school to adopt and implement a locally negotiated best practices teacher evaluation system, described as one in which each teacher is evaluated on a continuing basis on the degree to which he or she accomplishes specific objectives and multiple observations of instructional and other professional practices that are conducted by trained evaluators. Exempts hourly employees performing adult education classes. The evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, the degree of accomplishment of the following objectives:
- Engages and supports all pupils in learning
- Creates and maintains effective environments for pupil learning, to the extent that those environments are within the teacher’s control
- Understands and organizes subject matter for pupil learning
- Plans instruction and designs learning experiences for all pupils
- Uses pupil assessment information to inform instruction and to improve learning
- Develops as a professional educator
- Contributes to pupil academic growth based on multiple measures, as follows:
- State and local formative and summative assessments in the grade levels and subjects that these assessments are administered
- Classroom work, local and state academic assessments, and pupil grades, classroom participation, presentations and performances, and projects and portfolios
A minimum of three performance levels is required.
Requires school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to conduct annual in-service training for teachers in grades K-12 and for classified staff who have contact with students, on the early identification of mental heath issues.
Requires the State Board of Education to revise, update, and adopt guidelines that school districts must use in the development of teacher evaluation. Requires the updated guidelines to include a determination of a teacher’s overall performance.
Prohibits a pupil from being assigned two consecutive years to a certified employee who has the primary responsibility of instructing pupils and has received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the most recent evaluation.
Requires the governing board of each school district to evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to pupil achievement and pupil outcomes.
Evidence of pupil progress may include written reports from classroom observations and data from any or all of the following:
- State-adopted criterion referenced assessments
- District, school, or department-developed assessments
- Curriculum-based and end-of-course assessments
- Pre-test and post-test data
- Interim, periodic, benchmark, and formative assessments
- English language proficiency assessments
- Assessments measuring progress in an individualized education program
- Advance placement, international baccalaureate and college preparedness examinations
- A-G coursework completion
- Industry-recognized career technical education assessments and program completion
- Portfolios of pupils’ work and projects and of live and recorded pupil performances
- Surveys from parents
A minimum of three performance levels is required.
Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop recommendations on a certificated employee evaluation system that is capable of being used by local educational agencies statewide and that contains multiple measures including, but not limited to:
- Principal or supervisor observation
- Pupil performance on statewide assessments, including achievement levels and growth
- Pupil, parent, and peer surveys, as appropriate
Requires the commission to submit a report containing those recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
States the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish the Topline Teacher Recruitment and Retention Program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, which would make funds available to students at public postsecondary educational institutions who have graduated in the top 5% of their secondary school classes and have committed to teaching in public secondary schools for a specified number of years.
Subject to funding in the Budget Act of 2016, requires creation of an instructional video to train school administrators on comprehensive Title IX compliance and a Title IX pupils' rights video designed for pupils and parents. The State Department of Education would apportion funds to a county office of education (selected from applicant county offices of education) that would be the fiduciary agent for the videos.
Establishes the Safe and Supportive Schools Train the Trainer Program. Subject to funding in the Budget Act of 2016, the State Department of Education would apportion funds to a county office of education, designated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The designated county office of education would:
1. Establish specific professional development activities that will lead to statewide professional development support structures and a network of trainers for the development and expansion of:
- The Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) programs
- Restorative justice
- Social and emotional learning (SEL)
- Trauma-informed practice
- Cultural competency professional development in each region of the state, with a specific focus on those regions that are underserved and do not have access to trainers in these research-based approaches
2. Consult with the following entities to implement these strategies:
- The Regional K-12 Student Mental Health Initiative
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness
- The California Technical Assistance Center on SW-PBIS
- The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
- The California Mental Health Directors Association
- Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
- UCSF Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) project
- Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth
- The International Institute for Restorative Practices
- Other nonprofit and public agencies
3. Select an advisory committee of stakeholders and professionals who have participated in the development of these programs to assist in planning and implementation.
Requires the governing board of each school district to adopt and implement a locally negotiated best practices teacher evaluation system, described as one in which each teacher is evaluated on a continuing basis on the degree to which he or she accomplishes specific objectives and multiple observations of instructional and other professional practices that are conducted by trained evaluators. The evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, the degree to of accomplishment of the following objectives:
- Engages and supports all pupils in learning
- Creates and maintains effective environments for pupil learning, to the extent that those environments are within the teacher’s control
- Understands and organizes subject matter for pupil learning
- Plans instruction and designs learning experiences for all pupils
- Uses pupil assessment information to inform instruction and to improve learning
- Develops as a professional educator
- Contributes to pupil academic growth based on multiple measures, as follows:
- State and local formative and summative assessments in the grade levels and subjects that these assessments are administered
- Classroom work, local and state academic assessments, and pupil grades, classroom participation, presentations and performances, and projects and portfolios
Legislative Update
Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D – San Diego) has announced her committee appointments for the 2015–16 Legislative Session. Below is a list of the committees and their members that will be of particular interest to you. http://www.cetpa.net/advocacy
