Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 231 (2017GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Moss, J.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/24/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• amends provisions related to components of an educator evaluation program;
• amends provisions related to a mentor for a provisional educator;
• amends duties of the State Board of Education related to educator evaluations;
• amends provisions related to reporting regarding educator evaluations;
• repeals provisions related to educator and administrator evaluations; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

EDUCATOR EVALUATION AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jefferson Moss
Senate Sponsor: 
Ann Millner
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions related to educator evaluations.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ amends provisions related to components of an educator evaluation program;
▸ amends provisions related to a mentor for a provisional educator;
▸ amends duties of the State Board of Education related to educator evaluations;
▸ amends provisions related to reporting regarding educator evaluations;
▸ repeals provisions related to educator and administrator evaluations; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53A-8a-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 203
53A-8a-301
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-302
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-401
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-402
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-403
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-405
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 204
53A-8a-406
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-409
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 204
53A-8a-410
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
REPEALS:
53A-8a-404
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-407
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-602
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-701
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 425
53A-8a-702
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 204
53A-8a-703
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 262
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53A-8a-102
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Administrator" means an individual who:
(a) serves in a position that requires:
(i) an educator license with an administrative area of concentration; or
(ii) a letter of authorization described in Section 
53A-3-301
 or 
53A-6-110
; and
(b) supervises school administrators or teachers.
[
(1)
] 
(2)
 "Career employee" means an employee of a school district who has obtained a
reasonable expectation of continued employment based upon Section 
53A-8a-201
 and an
agreement with the employee or the employee's association, district practice, or policy.
[
(2)
] 
(3)
 "Contract term" or "term of employment" means the period of time during
which an employee is engaged by the school district under a contract of employment, whether
oral or written.
[
(3)
] 
(4)
 "Dismissal" or "termination" means:
(a) termination of the status of employment of an employee;
(b) failure to renew or continue the employment contract of a career employee beyond
the then-current school year;
(c) reduction in salary of an employee not generally applied to all employees of the
same category employed by the school district during the employee's contract term; or
(d) change of assignment of an employee with an accompanying reduction in pay,
unless the assignment change and salary reduction are agreed to in writing.
[
(4)
] 
(5)
 (a) "Employee" means a career or provisional employee of a school district,
except as provided in Subsection [
(4)
] 
(5)
(b).
(b) For purposes of Part 2, Status of Employment, Part 4, Educator Evaluations, and
Part 5, Orderly School Termination Procedures, "employee" does not include:
(i) [
the
] 
a
 district superintendent[
,
] or the equivalent at the 
Utah
 Schools for the Deaf
and the Blind;
(ii) [
the
] 
a
 district business administrator or the equivalent at the 
Utah
 Schools for the
Deaf and the Blind; or
(iii) a temporary employee.
[
(5)
] 
(6)
 "Last-hired, first-fired layoff policy" means a staff reduction policy that
mandates the termination of an employee who started to work for [
the
] 
a
 district most recently
before terminating a more senior employee.
[
(6)
] 
(7)
 "Provisional employee" means an individual, other than a career employee or
a temporary employee, who is employed by a school district.
[
(7)
] 
(8)
 "School board" or "board" means a district school board or [
its equivalent at
]
,
for
 the 
Utah
 Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
, the State Board of Education
.
[
(8)
] 
(9)
 "School district" or "district" means:
(a) a public school district; or
(b) the 
Utah
 Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
[
(9)
] 
(10)
 "Temporary employee" means an individual who is employed on a temporary
basis as defined by policies adopted by the local board of education. If the class of employees
in question is represented by an employee organization recognized by the local board, the board
shall adopt [
its
] 
the board's
 policies based upon an agreement with that organization. 
Temporary employees serve at will and have no expectation of continued employment.
[
(10)
] 
(11)
 (a) "Unsatisfactory performance" means a deficiency in performing work
tasks [
which
] 
that
 may be:
(i) due to insufficient or undeveloped skills or a lack of knowledge or aptitude; and
(ii) remediated through training, study, mentoring, or practice.
(b) "Unsatisfactory performance" does not include the following conduct that is
designated as a cause for termination under Section 
53A-8a-501
 or a reason for license
discipline by the State Board of Education or Utah Professional Practices Advisory
Commission:
(i) a violation of work rules;
(ii) a violation of local school board policies, State Board of Education rules, or law;
(iii) a violation of standards of ethical, moral, or professional conduct; or
(iv) insubordination.
Section 2. Section 
53A-8a-301
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-301.
Evaluation of employee performance.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), a local school board shall require that the
performance of each school district employee be evaluated annually in accordance with rules of
the State Board of Education adopted in accordance with this chapter and Title 63G, Chapter 3,
Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(2) [
(a)
] Rules adopted by the State Board of Education under Subsection (1) may
include an exemption from annual performance evaluations for 
a
 temporary [
or
] 
employee or a
part-time [
employees
] 
employee
.
[
(b) As provided by Section 
53A-8a-405
, a provisional or probationary educator shall
be evaluated at least twice each school year.
]
Section 3. Section 
53A-8a-302
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-302.
State Board of Education rules -- Reporting to Legislature.
(1) Subject to Part 4, Educator Evaluations, [
and Part 7, Evaluation and Compensation
of Administrators,
] rules adopted by the State Board of Education under Section 
53A-8a-301
shall:
(a) provide general guidelines, requirements, and procedures for the development and
implementation of employee evaluations;
(b) establish required components and allow for optional components of employee
evaluations;
(c) require school districts to [
chose
] 
choose
 valid and reliable methods and tools to
implement the evaluations; and
(d) establish a timeline for school districts to implement employee evaluations.
(2) The State Board of Education shall report to the Education Interim Committee, as
requested, on progress in implementing employee evaluations in accordance with this part[
,
]
and
 Part 4, Educator Evaluations[
, and Part 7, Evaluation and Compensation of
Administrators
].
Section 4. Section 
53A-8a-401
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-401.
Legislative findings.
(1) The Legislature [
recognizes
] 
finds
 that the [
quality
] 
effectiveness
 of public
[
education
] 
educators
 can be improved and enhanced by 
providing specific feedback and
support for improvement through a
 systematic, fair, and competent annual evaluation [
of public
educators
] and remediation of [
those
] 
public educators
 whose performance is inadequate.
(2) [
In
] 
The State Board of Education and each local school board shall implement this
part, in
 accordance with Subsections 
53A-1a-104
(7) and 
53A-6-102
(2)(a) and (b), [
the desired
purposes of evaluation are
] to:
(a) allow the educator and the school district to promote the professional growth of the
educator; and
(b) identify and encourage quality instruction in order to improve student
[
achievement
] 
academic growth
.
Section 5. Section 
53A-8a-402
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-402.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Career educator" means a licensed employee who has a reasonable expectation of
continued employment under the policies of a local school board.
(2) "Educator" means an individual employed by a school district who is required to
hold a professional license issued by the State Board of Education, except:
(a) a superintendent; or
(b) an individual who[
: (i)
] works [
fewer
] 
less
 than three hours per day[
;
] or [
(ii)
] is
hired for less than half of a school year.
(3) "Probationary educator" means an educator employed by a school district who,
under local school board policy, has been advised by the 
school
 district that the educator's
performance is inadequate.
(4) "Provisional educator" means an educator employed by a school district who has
not achieved status as a career educator within the school district.
(5) "Summative evaluation" means the annual evaluation that summarizes an
educator's performance during a school year and that is used to make decisions related to the
educator's employment.
Section 6. Section 
53A-8a-403
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-403.
Establishment of educator evaluation program -- Joint committee.
(1) A local school board shall develop an educator evaluation program in consultation
with its joint committee.
(2) The joint committee described in Subsection (1) shall consist of an equal number of
classroom teachers, parents, and administrators appointed by the local school board.
(3) A local school board may appoint members of the joint committee from a list of
nominees:
(a) voted on by classroom teachers in a nomination election;
(b) voted on by the administrators in a nomination election; and
(c) of parents submitted by school community councils within the district.
(4) Subject to Subsection (5), the joint committee may:
(a) adopt or adapt an evaluation program for [
teachers
] 
educators
 based on a model
developed by the State Board of Education; or
(b) create [
its
] 
the local school board's
 own evaluation program for [
teachers
]
educators
.
(5) The evaluation program developed by the joint committee [
must
] 
shall
 comply with
the requirements of this part and rules adopted by the State Board of Education under Section
53A-8a-409
.
Section 7. Section 
53A-8a-405
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-405.
Components of educator evaluation program.
(1)
 [
An educator evaluation program adopted by a
] 
A
 local school board in
consultation with a joint committee established in Section 
53A-8a-403
[
: (1)
] shall [
include the
following components
] 
adopt a reliable and valid educator evaluation program that evaluates
educators based on educator professional standards established by the State Board of Education
and includes
:
[
(a) a reliable and valid evaluation program consistent with generally accepted
professional standards for personnel evaluation systems;
]
[
(b) (i) the evaluation of provisional and probationary educators at least twice each
school year; and
]
[
(ii) the
] 
(a) a systematic
 annual evaluation of all 
provisional, probationary, and
 career
educators;
[
(c) systematic evaluation procedures for both provisional and career educators;
]
[
(d) the
] 
(b)
 use of multiple lines of evidence, including:
(i) self-evaluation;
(ii) student and parent input;
[
(iii) peer observation;
]
(iii) for an administrator, employee input;
(iv) 
a reasonable number of
 supervisor observations 
to ensure adequate reliability
;
(v) evidence of professional growth[
;
] 
and other indicators of instructional
improvement based on educator professional standards established by the State Board of
Education; and
(vi) student [
achievement
] 
academic growth
 data; [
and
]
[
(vii) other indicators of instructional improvement;
]
[
(e) a reasonable number of observation periods for an evaluation to ensure adequate
reliability;
]
[
(f) administration of an educator's evaluation by:
]
[
(i) the principal;
]
[
(ii) the principal's designee;
]
[
(iii) the educator's immediate supervisor; or
]
[
(iv) another person specified in the evaluation program;
]
[
(g) an orientation for educators on the educator evaluation program; and
]
[
(h)
] 
(c)
 a summative evaluation that differentiates among four levels of performance;
and
(d) for an administrator, the effectiveness of evaluating employee performance in a
school or school district for which the administrator has responsibility.
(2) (a) An educator evaluation program described in Subsection (1) may include a
reasonable number of peer observations.
[
(2)
] 
(b) An educator evaluation program described in Subsection (1)
 may not use
end-of-level assessment scores in educator evaluation. 
Section 8. Section 
53A-8a-406
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-406.
Summative evaluation timelines -- Review of summative evaluations.
(1) The person responsible for administering an educator's summative evaluation shall:
(a) at least 15 days before an educator's first evaluation:
(i) notify the educator of the evaluation process; and
(ii) give the educator a copy of the evaluation instrument, if an instrument is used;
(b) [
(i)
] allow the educator to [
make a written response
] 
respond
 to any part of the
evaluation; [
and
]
[
(ii)
] 
(c)
 attach the educator's response to the evaluation 
if the educator's response is
provided in writing
;
[
(c)
] 
(d)
 within 15 days after the evaluation process is completed, discuss the written
evaluation with the educator; and
[
(d) following any revision of the written evaluation made after the discussion:
]
[
(i) file the evaluation and any related reports or documents in the educator's personnel
file; and
]
[
(ii) give a copy of the written evaluation and attachments to the educator.
]
(e) based upon the educator's performance, assign to the educator one of the four levels
of performance described in Section 
53A-8a-405
.
(2) An educator who is not satisfied with a summative evaluation may request a review
of the evaluation within 15 days after receiving the written evaluation.
(3) (a) If a review is requested 
in accordance with Subsection (2)
, the school district
superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall appoint a person not employed by the
school district who has expertise in teacher or personnel evaluation to review the evaluation
procedures and make recommendations to the superintendent regarding the educator's
summative evaluation.
(b) [
The
] 
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
Act, the
 State Board of Education shall make rules prescribing standards for an independent
review of an educator's summative evaluation.
(c) A review of an educator's summative evaluation under Subsection (3)(a) shall be
conducted in accordance with State Board of Education rules made under Subsection (3)(b).
Section 9. Section 
53A-8a-409
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-409.
State Board of Education to describe a framework for the evaluation
of educators.
(1) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
State Board of Education shall make rules:
(a) [
establishing
] 
describing
 a framework for the evaluation of educators that is
consistent with the requirements of Part 3, Employee Evaluations, and this part; 
and
(b) requiring [
a teacher's
] 
an educator's
 summative evaluation to be based on [
standards
of instructional quality; and
]
:
(i) educator professional standards established by the State Board of Education; and
(ii) the requirements described in Subsection 
53A-8a-405
(1).
[
(c) requiring each school district to fully implement an evaluation system for
educators in accordance with the framework established by the State Board of Education no
later than the 2015-16 school year.
]
(2) The rules described in Subsection (1) shall prohibit the use of end-of-level
assessment scores in educator evaluation. 
Section 10. Section 
53A-8a-410
 is amended to read:
53A-8a-410.
Report of performance levels.
(1) A school district shall report to the State Board of Education the number and
percent of educators in each of the four [
rating categories referred to in Section 
53A-8a-405
based on an educator's annual evaluation
] 
levels of performance assigned under Section
53A-8a-406
.
(2) The data reported under Subsection (1) shall be separately reported for the
following educator classifications:
(a) administrators;
(b) teachers
, including separately reported data for provisional teachers and career
teachers
; and
[
(c) educators other than administrators or teachers.
]
(c) other classifications or demographics of educators as determined by the State Board
of Education.
(3) The 
state superintendent shall include the
 data reported by school districts under
this section [
shall be included
] in the state superintendent's annual report of the public school
system required by Section 
53A-1-301
.
(4) [
The
] 
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
Act, the
 State Board of Education shall make rules to ensure the privacy and protection of
individual evaluation data.
Section 11. 
Repealer.
This bill repeals:
Section 
53A-8a-404
,
Evaluation orientation.
Section 
53A-8a-407
,
Deficiencies -- Improvement.
Section 
53A-8a-602
,
Educator's eligibility for a wage increase.
Section 
53A-8a-701
,
Definitions.
Section 
53A-8a-702
,
Evaluation of school and district administrators.
Section 
53A-8a-703
,
Compensation of school and district administrators.