EDUCATOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION S.B. 817 (S-2):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 817 (Substitute S-2 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
Sponsor: Senator John Pappageorge
CONTENT
The bill would amend provisions of the Revised School Code that require teacher and school administrator performance evaluations, to do the following:
-- Revise the way in which student growth must be measured in 2014-2015.
-- Delay until the 2015-2016 school year implementation of a requirement that performance evaluations meet certain criteria, including an annual year-end evaluation and the assignment of an individual effectiveness rating.
-- Lower the percentage of an evaluation that must be based on student growth and assessment data from 50% to 40%.
The Code requires the board of a school district or intermediate school district (ISD) or the board of directors of a public school academy (PSA) to adopt and implement for all teachers and administrators a performance evaluation system. Among other things, the system must evaluate a teacher's or administrator's job performance, using multiple rating categories that take into account data on student growth as a significant factor. For this purpose, the Code requires student growth to be measured by national, State, or local assessments and other objective criteria. The bill would delete this requirement for the measurement of student growth.
Instead, for 2014-2015, for grades and subjects in which State assessments are administered in compliance with Federal law, student growth would have to be measured, at least in part, using the State assessments. For other grades and subjects, student growth would have to be measured, at least in part, using alternative assessments that were rigorous and comparable across schools within the school district. The bill would include similar language in provisions that exempt a school district, ISD, or PSA from the educator evaluation requirements if it already has a performance evaluation system that meets particular requirements.
Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, the Code requires a school district, ISD, or PSA board to ensure that the performance evaluation system includes an annual year-end evaluation for all teachers and administrators, adoption and implementation of a State evaluation tool or a comparable local tool, the assignment to each individual of an effectiveness rating based on his or her score on the annual evaluation. The system must provide that, if an individual is rated as ineffective on three consecutive evaluations, the school district, ISD, or PSA must dismiss the person from employment. Under the bill, these requirements would apply beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.
Under current requirements, a certain percentage of an individual's annual evaluation must be based on student growth and assessment data as follows: for the 2013-2014 school year, at least 25%; for the 2014-2015 school year, at least 40%; and, beginning with the 2015-16 school year, at least 50%. The bill would delete the requirements applicable to the
2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, and reduce the percentage of the evaluation that must be based on student growth and assessment in the 2015-2016 school to 40%.
MCL 380.1249 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed delay of the performance evaluation system for teachers and administrators could result in some savings for the fiscal year 2014-15 budget; however, the extent of those savings is unknown, and any savings in FY 2014-15 would have to be paid in FY 2015-16. The Governor's proposed budget for FY 2014-15 included a total of $49.4 million for the first year of phasing in educator evaluations and student assessments. While it is likely that a large portion of the funding in FY 2014-15 would still be used for training, teacher and administrator evaluation tools, electronic reporting, necessary information technology updates, and other items, it is possible that a small portion of those funding requirements could be delayed to FY 2015-16 if the implementation of the performance evaluation system were delayed as proposed under this bill.
The requirement that alternative assessments, used in grades not covered by State assessments, be rigorous and comparable across schools within the district, ISD, or PSA could result in additional costs if the existing alternative assessments do not meet those criteria as specified under the legislation. However, this would occur only if the existing test did not meet the criteria and if the new alternative assessment for those grade levels were more expensive.
Date Completed: 5-14-14 Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.