HOUSE BILL 144

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

James E. Smith and Sander Rue

AN ACT

RELATING TO SCHOOL PERSONNEL; ENACTING THE TEACHER AND SCHOOL LEADER EFFECTIVENESS ACT; PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATIONS FOR LICENSED SCHOOL EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR SYSTEMS, PROCEDURES, CRITERIA AND MONITORING; PROVIDING ASSESSMENT COMPONENTS; REQUIRING POST-EVALUATION ACTIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act"."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act:

          A. "evaluation" means a final summative rating that is composed of multiple measures that include growth in student achievement, observations and locally selected multiple measures;

          B. "licensed school employee" is limited to those licensed school employees who provide services at one or more public schools in the school district;

          C. "school district" includes charter schools;

          D. "school principal" includes assistant principals and head administrators of charter schools; and

          E. "teacher" includes instructional support providers who provide services at one or more public schools in the school district."

     SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] RULES IMPLEMENTATION.--

          A. The department shall promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act, including rules that establish uniform procedures for:

                (1) the submission, review and approval of school district procedures for the annual effectiveness evaluation of licensed school employees;

                (2) the standards for each effectiveness level required pursuant to Section 4 of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act; and

                (3) the measurement of student achievement growth and associated implementation procedures required pursuant to Section 6 of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act.  

          B. The department shall adopt:

                (1) a list of approved assessments to measure student achievement growth; and

                (2) a list of approved measures of teacher and school leader effectiveness for the multiple measures component of the teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluations.

          C. In the 2015-2016 school year and in subsequent school years, each school district shall continue to implement its department-approved teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation system, and employment decisions pertaining to effectiveness evaluations, promotions, terminations and discharges shall be made pursuant to the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act."

     SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA.--

          A. For the purpose of increasing student achievement by improving the quality of instruction, school administration and supervision in the public schools of the state, every school district shall establish procedures for evaluating the performance of duties and responsibilities of all licensed school employees in the school district. Each school district shall report annually to the department the results of its effectiveness evaluations of licensed school employees.

          B. The department shall approve each school district's teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation system and shall monitor each school district's implementation of the system. 

          C. A teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation system shall:

                (1) be designed to support effective instruction and student achievement, with the results used to inform school district- and school-level improvement plans;

                (2) provide appropriate instruments, procedures and criteria and continuous quality improvement of professional skills, with the results used to inform the professional development of licensed school employees;

                (3) include a mechanism to examine effectiveness data from multiple sources, which may include giving parents and students opportunities to provide input into effectiveness evaluations when appropriate;

                (4) identify those teaching fields for which special evaluation procedures and criteria may be developed;

                (5) include measures of student achievement growth worth forty-five percent, observations worth thirty percent and multiple measures worth twenty-five percent, unless otherwise provided for in Subsections E and G of this section; and

                (6) differentiate among at least five levels of performance, which include the following:

                     (a) exemplary, meets competency;

                     (b) highly effective, meets competency;

                     (c) effective, meets competency;

                     (d) minimally effective, does not meet competency; and

                     (e) ineffective, does not meet competency. 

          D. The teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation procedures for licensed school employees shall be based on the performance of students assigned to their classrooms or public schools as provided in the Teacher and School Leadership Effectiveness Act. The procedures shall comply with the requirements of Subsections E through O of this section.

          E. A teacher effectiveness evaluation shall be conducted for each teacher at least once a year. Each evaluation shall be based on sound educational principles and contemporary research in effective educational practices. The student achievement growth component of a teacher's effectiveness evaluation shall be based on valid and reliable data and indicators of student achievement growth assessed annually. Student achievement growth shall be based on a department-approved, standards-based assessment. For subjects and grade levels not measured by state assessments, a school district shall develop assessments pursuant to the provisions of Subsection I of this section or select assessments from a list of options approved by the department.

          F. A school district shall use the department-adopted measures of student achievement growth calculated by the department for all courses associated with state assessments or district-created, department-approved assessments and shall select comparable measures of student achievement growth for other grades and subjects as provided in Section 6 of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act.

          G. The student achievement growth component of the teacher effectiveness evaluation shall constitute, for classroom teachers with:

                (1) no student achievement growth data, no part of the teacher effectiveness evaluation;

                (2) one or two years of student achievement growth data, twenty-five percent of the teacher effectiveness evaluation; and

                (3) three or more years of student achievement growth data, forty-five percent of the effectiveness evaluation.  

          H. For school principals, the student achievement growth component of the school leader effectiveness evaluation shall include student achievement growth data for students assigned to the public school over the course of at least three years. The student achievement growth component of the effectiveness evaluation shall be based on the student growth components of the school's A through F letter grade and shall constitute fifty percent of the school leader effectiveness evaluation.

          I. If a school district develops an assessment that measures student achievement growth for classroom teachers who do not teach in a standards-based assessment grade or subject, the school district shall submit the assessment to the department for approval.

          J. Thirty percent of the teacher effectiveness evaluation shall be based on data and indicators of instructional practice for teachers. Instructional practices shall be observed using a common research-based observational protocol approved by the department, with a demonstrated correlation to improved student achievement. 

          K. Feedback on classroom observations shall be given to classroom teachers within ten days after the observation is completed.

          L. For licensed school employees who are not classroom teachers, performance criteria shall be based on research-based indicators and may include specific job-effectiveness expectations related to student support.

          M. For school principals, effectiveness evaluation criteria shall include indicators based on each of the leadership standards adopted by the department. The school leader effectiveness evaluation shall include a means to give other licensed school employees and parents an opportunity to provide input into the school principal's effectiveness evaluation, when appropriate.

          N. Multiple measures approved by the department shall be twenty-five percent of the school district's teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation system, except as otherwise provided in the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act. The multiple measures shall be aligned with improved student achievement. Each school district shall adopt at least one multiple measure.

          O. The school administrator responsible for supervising a licensed school employee shall evaluate the licensed school employee's performance. The school district's teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluation system may provide for the supervisor to consider input from other trained evaluators and observers."

     SECTION 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] EVALUATION--WRITTEN REPORT--POST-EVALUATION CONFERENCE--NOTIFICATION OF MINIMALLY EFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE--RESULTS OF EVALUATION--CORRECTIVE ACTION.--

          A. Every evaluator shall submit a written report on the effectiveness evaluation of each licensed school employee to the licensed school employee and to the local superintendent. Once each component of an effectiveness evaluation is completed, the evaluator shall not change that component. A licensed school employee who is rated minimally effective or ineffective may provide a written response to the effectiveness evaluation, and the response shall become a permanent attachment to the licensed school employee's personnel file.

          B. For licensed school employees evaluated as minimally effective or ineffective, the written report shall describe the minimally effective or ineffective performance and include notice of the procedural requirements of this section. The notice shall constitute notice of uncorrected unsatisfactory work performance pursuant to Section 22-10A-30 NMSA 1978.

          C. The evaluator shall arrange a post-evaluation conference with each licensed school employee evaluated as minimally effective or ineffective. At the conference, the evaluator shall make recommendations with respect to specific areas of unsatisfactory performance and provide other useful feedback that provides the initial framework for an individual professional growth plan.

          D. School principals and other supervisors shall use the results of the teacher and school leader effectiveness evaluations to develop strategic support for licensed school employees who are rated minimally effective or ineffective, which support shall align with best practices identified by the department. The evaluator shall provide assistance in helping to correct unsatisfactory performance.

          E. If the licensed school employee has an employment contract, the licensed school employee shall be placed on a performance growth plan and be governed by the provisions of this section pertaining to the demonstration of corrective action for ninety school days following the receipt of the notice of minimally effective or ineffective performance; provided that weekends, school holidays and school vacation periods are not counted when calculating the ninety-day period. During the ninety-day period, the licensed school employee shall be observed and evaluated periodically and shall be apprised of progress. The evaluator shall provide assistance and notification of in-service training opportunities to help correct the performance deficiencies noted.

          F. Within five school days after the allowed ninety-day period, the evaluator shall evaluate whether the performance deficiencies have been corrected and forward a recommendation to the local superintendent. Within ten school days after receiving the evaluator's recommendation, the local superintendent shall notify in writing the licensed school employee who has an employment contract whether the performance deficiencies have been satisfactorily corrected. If satisfactory progress has not been made, the local superintendent shall determine whether to discharge the licensed school employee in compliance with Section 22-10A-27 NMSA 1978 or, if at the end of a school year, to terminate the employment of the employee in compliance with Section 22-10A-24 NMSA 1978.

          G. An exemption to the provisions of this section may be provided for upon appeal for extraordinary circumstances as determined by the department.

          H. The local superintendent shall notify the department of a licensed school employee who receives two consecutive minimally effective or ineffective evaluations and who has been given written notice by the school district that the licensed school employee is being discharged or terminated or that the local school board intends to discharge or terminate the licensed school employee.

          I. This section does not grant a probationary employee a right to continued employment beyond the term of the probationary employee's contract."

     SECTION 6. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] MEASUREMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH IN LEARNING.--

          A. By July 15, 2015, the department shall propose a formula to measure individual student achievement growth on the state standardized assessments used for school accountability. The formula shall take into account each student's prior performance, grade level and subject. The formula shall not set different expectations for student achievement growth based on gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. The department shall adopt the formula by rule by September 1, 2015.

          B. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, each school district shall use the department-adopted student achievement growth measure to measure the growth in achievement of each student. 

          C. For classroom teachers who are assigned to courses not associated with state assessments, a school district may request, through the effectiveness evaluation system approval process, to include achievement growth demonstrated on state assessments as a percentage of the overall effectiveness evaluation. Achievement growth of the state assessment shall be based on the students assigned to the teacher. The achievement growth of the teacher's assigned content area, as measured by the district-selected, department-approved assessment, shall be the greater percentage."

     SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

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