Judge suspends penalties linked to state’s teacher eval system
A Santa Fe judge struck a blow against the state’s contentious teacher evaluation system Wednesday, temporarily halting provisions that would punish teachers for poor scores until a trial can determine whether the rating system is valid.
The 70-page ruling by state District Judge David Thomson focused primarily on the complicated combination of student test scores used to judge teachers. The ruling prevents the Public Education Department from denying teachers licensure advancement or renewal, and it strikes down a requirement that poorly performing teachers be placed on growth plans.
Local chapters of the American Federation of Teachers, individual educators and some Democratic legislators who filed the suit called the decision a win, while the Public Education Department stood by its teacher evaluation system.
The next round of teacher evaluations is set to be released in May.
Thomson said the teacher evaluation system varies from district to district, which goes against a state law calling for a consistent evaluation plan for all educators.
“The problem is that is not easy to pull back the curtain and the inner workings of the model are not easily understood, translated or made accessible,” the judge said.
Thomson’s ruling marks the first successful challenge of the teacher evaluation system instituted by state Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera in the 2013-14 school year. Similar lawsuits previously were dismissed in the state Court of Appeals and in a state District Court in Albuquerque.
The ruling came in a case that had stalled in Thomson’s courtroom for the past two months. What was supposed to be a single day of testimony in September stretched into five days of arguments and expert statements spread over the course of two weeks.
The union originally had asked Thomson to halt all teacher evaluations until an April hearing on whether to permanently put an end to the system. But during the final day of the hearing, union attorney Shane Youtz narrowed the original request, asking Thomson only to suspend a provision that called for placing low-performing teachers on improvement plans or other punitive measures. Youtz said districts can fire teachers who don’t improve, which is wrong if the teacher evaluation system is flawed.
The Public Education Department uses a combination of student test scores, Judge suspends penalties linked to state’s teacher eval system - The Santa Fe New Mexican: Northern New Mexico Education: