COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 1002
(By Senator Tomblin (Mr. President),
By Request of the Executive)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported May 16, 2010.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-12 and §18A-2-12a of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the
evaluation of professional personnel in the public schools;
requiring at least annual evaluations; and establishing
effective dates.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-2-12 and §18A-2-12a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-12. Performance evaluations of school personnel;
professional personnel evaluation process.
(a) The state board shall adopt a written system for the
evaluation of the employment performance of personnel, which system
shall be applied uniformly by county boards of education in the
evaluation of the employment performance of personnel employed by the board.
(b) The system adopted by the state board for evaluating the
employment performance of professional personnel shall be in
accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) For purposes of this section, "professional personnel",
"professional" or "professionals", means professional personnel as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter.
(d) In developing the professional personnel performance
evaluation system, and amendments thereto, the state board shall
consult with the Center for Professional Development created in
article three-a of this chapter. The center shall participate
actively with the state board in developing written standards for
evaluation which clearly specify satisfactory performance and the
criteria to be used to determine whether the performance of each
professional meets such standards.
(e) The performance evaluation system shall contain, but shall
not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The professional personnel positions to be evaluated,
whether they be teachers, substitute teachers, administrators,
principals or others;
(2)
Before July 1, 2011, the frequency and duration of the
evaluations shall be on a regular basis and of such frequency and
duration as to insure the collection of a sufficient amount of data
from which reliable conclusions and findings may be drawn:
Provided, That for school personnel with five or more years of
experience, who have not received an unsatisfactory rating, evaluations shall be conducted no more than once every three years
unless the principal determines an evaluation for a particular
school employee is needed more frequently:
Provided, however, That
for classroom teachers with five or more years of experience who
have not received an unsatisfactory rating, an evaluation shall be
conducted or professional growth and development plan required only
when the principal determines it to be necessary for a particular
classroom teacher, or when a classroom teacher exercises the option
of being evaluated at more frequent intervals.
_____(3) Effective July 1, 2011, notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, the frequency and duration of the
evaluations of all professional personnel shall be at least on an
annual basis to insure the collection of a sufficient amount of
data from which reliable conclusions and findings may be drawn.
_____(3) (4) The evaluation shall serve the following purposes:
(A) Serve as a basis for the improvement of the performance of
the personnel in their assigned duties;
(B) Provide an indicator of satisfactory performance for
individual professionals;
(C) Serve as documentation for a dismissal on the grounds of
unsatisfactory performance; and
(D) Serve as a basis for programs to increase the professional
growth and development of professional personnel;
(4) (5) The standards for satisfactory performance for
professional personnel and the criteria to be used to determine
whether the performance of each professional meets such standards and other criteria for evaluation for each professional position
evaluated.
Effective July 1, 2003, and thereafter, Professional
personnel, as appropriate, shall demonstrate competency in the
knowledge and implementation of the technology standards adopted by
the state board. If a professional fails to demonstrate
competency, in the knowledge and implementation of these standards,
he or she will be subject to an improvement plan to correct the
deficiencies; and
(5) (6) Provisions for a written improvement plan, which shall
be specific as to what improvements, if any, are needed in the
performance of the professional and shall clearly set forth
recommendations for improvements, including recommendations for
additional education and training during the professional's
recertification process.
(f) A professional whose performance is considered to be
unsatisfactory shall be given notice of deficiencies. A
remediation plan to correct deficiencies shall be developed by the
employing county board of education and the professional. The
professional shall be given a reasonable period of time for
remediation of the deficiencies and shall receive a statement of
the resources and assistance available for the purposes of
correcting the deficiencies.
(g) No person may evaluate professional personnel for the
purposes of this section unless the person has an administrative
certificate issued by the state superintendent and has successfully
completed education and training in evaluation skills through the center for professional development, or equivalent education
training approved by the state board, which will enable the person
to make fair, professional, and credible evaluations of the
personnel whom the person is responsible for evaluating.
After
July 1, 1994, No person may be issued an administrative certificate
or have an administrative certificate renewed unless the state
board determines that the person has successfully completed
education and training in evaluation skills through the center for
professional development, or equivalent education and training
approved by the state board.
(h) Any professional whose performance evaluation includes a
written improvement plan shall be given an opportunity to improve
his or her performance through the implementation of the plan. If
the next performance evaluation shows that the professional is now
performing satisfactorily, no further action may be taken
concerning the original performance evaluation. If the evaluation
shows that the professional is still not performing satisfactorily,
the evaluator either shall make additional recommendations for
improvement or may recommend the dismissal of the professional in
accordance with the provisions of section eight of this article.
(i) Lesson plans are intended to serve as a daily guide for
teachers and substitutes for the orderly presentation of the
curriculum. Lesson plans may not be used as a substitute for
observations by an administrator in the performance evaluation
process. A classroom teacher, as defined in section one, article
one of this chapter, may not be required to post his or her lesson plans on the internet or otherwise make them available to students
and parents or to include in his or her lesson plans any of the
following:
(1) Teach and re-teach strategies;
(2) Write to learn activities;
(3) Cultural diversity;
(4) Color coding; or
(5) Any other similar items which are not required to serve as
a guide to the teacher or substitute for daily instruction.
and
(j) The Legislature finds that classroom teachers must be free
of unnecessary paper work so that they can focus their time on
instruction. Therefore, classroom teachers may not be required to
keep records or logs of routine contacts with parents or guardians.
(k) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit
classroom teachers from voluntarily posting material on the
internet.
§18A-2-12a. Statement of policy and practice for the county
boards and school personnel to minimize possible
disagreement and misunderstanding.
(a) The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) The effective and efficient operation of the public
schools depends upon the development of harmonious and cooperative
relationships between county boards and school personnel;
(2) Each group has a fundamental role to perform in the
educational program and each has certain separate, distinct and
clearly defined areas of responsibility as provided in chapters eighteen and eighteen-a of this code; and
(3) There are instances, particularly involving questions of
wages, salaries and conditions of work, that are subject to
disagreement and misunderstanding between county boards and school
personnel and may not be so clearly set forth.
(b) The purpose of this section is to establish a statement of
policy and practice for the county boards and school personnel, as
follows, in order to minimize possible disagreement and
misunderstanding:
(1) County boards, subject to the provisions of this chapter,
chapter eighteen of this code and the policies and rules of the
state board, are responsible for the management of the schools
within their respective counties. The powers and responsibilities
of county boards in setting policy and in providing management are
broad, but not absolute;
(2) The school personnel shares the responsibility for putting
into effect the policies and practices approved by the county board
that employs them and the school personnel also have certain rights
and responsibilities as provided in statute, and in their
contracts;
(3) School personnel are entitled to meet together, form
associations and work in concert to improve their circumstances and
the circumstances of the schools;
(4) County boards and school personnel can most effectively
discharge their total responsibilities to the public and to each
other by establishing clear and open lines of communication. School personnel should be encouraged to make suggestions,
proposals and recommendations through appropriate channels to the
county board. Decisions of the county board concerning the
suggestions, proposals and recommendations should be communicated
to the school personnel clearly and openly;
(5) Official meetings of county boards are public meetings.
School personnel are free to attend the meetings without fear of
reprisal and should be encouraged to attend;
(6) All school personnel are entitled to know how well they
are fulfilling their responsibilities and should be offered the
opportunity of open and honest evaluations of their performance
on
a regular basis and in accordance with the provisions of section
twelve of this article. All school personnel are entitled to
opportunities to improve their job performance prior to the
termination or transfer of their services. Decisions concerning the
promotion, demotion, transfer or termination of employment of
school personnel, other than those for lack of need or governed by
specific statutory provisions unrelated to performance, should be
based upon the evaluations, and not upon factors extraneous
thereto. All school personnel are entitled to due process in
matters affecting their employment, transfer, demotion or
promotion; and
(7) All official and enforceable personnel policies of a
county board must be written and made available to its employees.