Relates to annual teacher and principal evaluations; provides that in the event that a new evaluation system has not been adopted in accordance with the recommendations of the committee of experts as set forth in subdivision sixteen of section 3012-d of the education law by September 1, 2027, the date for compliance with the provisions of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, shall be suspended until such time that a new evaluation system is enacted.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1651
SPONSOR: Paulin
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to annual teacher and
principal evaluations
 
PURPOSE:
To provide a moratorium on the 'implementation of education law in
connection with apportionment of general support for public schools from
appropriated funds dependent on compliance by school districts with
requirements relating. to annual teacher and principal evaluations, and
to provide procedures for school districts with respect to use of annual
professional performance review plans during the period in which the
moratorium is in effect
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision 11 of section 3012-d of the Education
Law, as added by section 2 of Subpart E of Part, EE Of Chapter 56 of the
Laws of 2015, to provide that no school district shall be eligible for
an Apportionment of general support-for-public schools froth the funds
appropriated for. the 2020-2021 School year and any year thereafter in
excess of the amount apportioned to such school district in the respec-
tive base year unless such school district has submitted documentation
that has been approved by the commissioner by September 1, 2020 and
September first of each subsequent year, demonstrating-that it has fully
implemented the standards and procedures for conducting annual teacher
and principal evaluations of teachers and principals in accordance with
the requirements of this section.: In the event a new annual teacher and
principal evaluation system ("new evaluation system") has not been
adopted by September 1, 2020 as provided in the act, the date for
compliance by school districts with the provisions of this subpart shall
be suspended until such time as a new evaluation system is adopted.
Section two amends section:3012-d of the Education Law by adding a new
subdivision 16 to provide that until the 2020-2021. school year, or
until such time that a new evaluation system has been adopted, whichever
is later (the "transition period"):(1) school districts and boards of
cooperative educational services ("BOCES") that have approved annual
professional performance review ("A.P.T?R"). plans pursuant to this
section shall locally determine whether to utilize the student perform-
ance category as part of its APPR evaluation system or whether to base
evaluations of classroom teachers and building principals solely upon
the Observation/school visit category ratings; (ii) any student perform-
ance category score and rating that is based o n grades 3-8 English
language arts and mathematics State assessments and/or State-provided
growth scores on Regents examinations will be deemed advisory only;
(iii) school districts and BOCES shall Choose whether to. continue to
implement their approved APPR plans pursuant to Education Law section
3012-c or-whether to submit an APPR plan that complies with Education
Law section 3012-d and implement such plan upon its approval; (iv) upon
transition by the State, to higher learning standards and alignment of
assessments to such standards, a committee of experts shall be formed to
propose a new evaluation system, such committee to be comprised of
experts in the field of education selected by the Regents ("committee of
experts"); and (v) the committee of experts shall develop a research-
based evaluation undergrounded in student learning and teacher/principal
effectiveness research and recommend, among Other things, an array of
permissible assessments for use in the new evaluation system and how to
measure growth in a meaningful way that fairly and accurately captures
teacher or principal contribution to the student learning process over
an appropriate interval of time
Section 3 amends section 3012-c Of the Education Law by adding a new
subparagraph 11 to provide that during the transition period, school
districts and BOLES continuing to implement APPR plans under Section
3012-c shall provide transition scores and ratings that exclude any
Student performance results based on grades 3-8 English language arts
and mathematics State assessments and/or State7provided growth scores on
Regents examinations.:
Section 4 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under. the Education Transformation Act of 2015 (the "2015 Act"),
Subpart E (also referred to as section 3012-d of the Education Law),
every school district was required to submit to the State Education
Department (SED) for approval by SED by November 15, 2015 a plan for
annual teacher and principal evaluations (a "3012-d plan") for use
beginning in the 2016-17 school year SED subsequently granted waivers to
the school districts - initially providing them until March 1, 2016 and
then until June 30, 2016 -to submit to SED their 3012-d plans for
approval.
SED has informed the school districts that if a school district does not
have its 3012-d plan approved by SED by September 1, 2016, the school
district will lose its increase in state aid for each year until an
approved 3012-d, plan has been approved. SED has further informed the
school districts that in order for SED to approve 3012-d plans by
September 1, 2016, school districts must submit their 3012-d plans by
July 1, 2016: In order for a school district to submit a 3012-d plan the
board of education of the school district must approve the plan and the
relevant. Collective bargaining units must agree to the terms of the
plan.
The changes required of every school district by Section 3012-d of the
Education Law are dramatic and numerous. To have a 3012-d plan that
complies with the law for example the school district must
* revise its teacher observation protocol
* add a new outside evaluator component
* revise its growth measures and/or student assessment procedures, using
a growth score Calculation that is not based on research
* select a State approved assessment even though most of the assessments
districts currently use are not on the list of State approved assess-
ments.
* translate all scores to the new matrix set forth in the law, a model
that is poorly constructed and has never been used in New York State;
the metrics for using the matrix have not been developed or field tested
with the result that the more than 700 school districts in the State
will be developing different APPR plans.
All teachers and evaluators will need to be trained on the new model.
Moreover, the school district's 3012-d plan must be approved by SED as
well as be negotiated with and agreed to by its local collective
bargaining units. Although SED has stated that State test scores cannot
be used as part of teacher and principal evaluation in a 3012-d plan,
all school districts must still negotiate a 3012-d plan: It should be
noted that districts will have to renegotiate its plan again When, .as
-is anticipated, State test scores are required again. In order to
comply with section 3012'7d of the Education law and obtain any state
aid increases, school districts must complete this work and negotiate
the adoption of a 30127d plan within the next three months, which is an
impossible timeframe: Additionally, the required changes necessitate new
resource that districts do not have, such as monies for training, devel-
opment, new assessments and outside evaluators.
This legislation will suspend the effect of Subpart E that ties payment
of state aid monies to compliance with requirements that are unsound and
untested and deadlines that are impossible to meet until a new evalu-
ation system has been developed and adopted. Millions of dollars have
already been spent on an evaluation system under section 3012-c of the
Education Law, widely acknowledged as flawed with the 2015 Act, school
districts have been asked to implement another flawed evaluation system,
under section 3012-d of the Education Law, a system that does not
conform with current research in teacher and principal evaluation. In
addition, the evaluation system requires more testing of students at a
time when a growing chorus of parents and educators have decried the
over-testing of our children and the use of such tests in the evaluation
of teachers and principals.
School districts across the State deserve a clear; well-researched eval-
uation model. This bill requires the formation of a committee of experts
in the field of education to create such a model, carefully, examining
the current evaluation system and recommending, what components should
be continued and what. Should be discarded. It is imperative that we
pause and take the time needed to develop a thoughtful, well-researched
process for designing a rigorous evaluation system for New York State.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.5000, 2021 and 2022, referred to education
A.317, 2019 and 2020, referred to education
A.2815, 2017 and 2018, referred to education
A.9461, 2016 referred to education
Same as 5.7632 2016 referred to education
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1651
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, BRABENEC, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to annual teacher and
principal evaluations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 3012-d of the education law, as
2 added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of
3 2015, is amended to read as follows:
4 11. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, no school
5 district shall be eligible for an apportionment of general support for
6 public schools from the funds appropriated for the [2015--2016] two
7 thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-eight school year and any
8 year thereafter in excess of the amount apportioned to such school
9 district in the respective base year unless such school district has
10 submitted documentation that has been approved by the commissioner by
11 [November fifteenth, two thousand fifteen, or by] September first, two
12 thousand twenty-seven and September first of each subsequent year,
13 demonstrating that it has fully implemented the standards and procedures
14 for conducting annual teacher and principal evaluations of teachers and
15 principals in accordance with the requirements of this section and the
16 regulations issued by the commissioner. Provided further that any appor-
17 tionment withheld pursuant to this section shall not occur prior to
18 April first of the current year and shall not have any effect on the
19 base year calculation for use in the subsequent school year. For
20 purposes of this section, "base year" shall mean the base year as
21 defined in paragraph b of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred
22 two of this chapter, and "current year" shall mean the current year as
23 defined in paragraph a of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred
24 two of this chapter. In the event that a new evaluation system has not
25 been adopted in accordance with the recommendations of the committee of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04283-01-3
A. 1651 2
1 experts as set forth in subdivision sixteen of this section by September
2 first, two thousand twenty-seven, the date for compliance with the
3 provisions of subpart E of part EE of chapter fifty-six of the laws of
4 two thousand fifteen, shall be suspended until such time that a new
5 evaluation system is enacted.
6 § 2. Section 3012-d of the education law is amended by adding a new
7 subdivision 18 to read as follows:
8 18. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of subdivision
9 four and subdivision five of this section, or of any other law, rule or
10 regulation to the contrary, until the two thousand twenty-seven--two
11 thousand twenty-eight school year, or until such time that a new evalu-
12 ation system has been adopted in accordance with the provisions of
13 subdivision eleven of this section, whichever is later, school districts
14 and boards of cooperative educational services that have approved annual
15 professional performance review plans pursuant to this section shall
16 locally determine whether to utilize the student performance category as
17 part of its annual professional performance review evaluation system or
18 whether to base evaluations of classroom teachers and building princi-
19 pals solely upon the observation/school visit category ratings.
20 b. During the transition period, any student performance category
21 score and rating that is based upon grades three through eight English
22 language arts and mathematics state assessments and/or state-provided
23 growth scores on regents examinations shall be deemed advisory only. The
24 transition scores and ratings shall be used for the purposes of employ-
25 ment decisions set forth in subdivision one of this section and to
26 determine whether a teacher or principal improvement plan is required.
27 Transition scores and ratings shall be calculated based upon either
28 solely the observation/school visit category, or with an alternate SLO
29 to replace such impermissible assessment measures at the sole option of
30 each school district or board of cooperative educational services, as
31 determined locally. The board of regents shall amend section 30-3.17 of
32 its rules in accordance with the terms contained herein.
33 c. During the transition period, school districts and boards of coop-
34 erative educational services shall choose whether to continue to imple-
35 ment their approved annual professional performance review plans pursu-
36 ant to section three thousand twelve-c of this article or whether to
37 submit a compliant annual professional performance review plan pursuant
38 to this section and implement such plan upon its approval.
39 d. During this transition period when the state completes its transi-
40 tion to higher learning standards and aligns its assessments to such
41 standards, a committee of experts shall be formed to propose a new eval-
42 uation system for classroom teachers and building principals which shall
43 ultimately amend this section in accordance with the committee's recom-
44 mendations, subject to legislative adoption of the same, after which the
45 board of regents shall also amend its rules in accordance with the terms
46 thereof. The committee shall be comprised of experts in the field of
47 education selected by the regents. Should the committee members be
48 selected and accept service on a voluntary basis, then there shall be no
49 remuneration for such service, provided that if volunteers cannot be
50 found, the committee members shall be remunerated in accordance with
51 legislative appropriations that shall be made to fairly compensate such
52 members.
53 e. The committee of experts shall develop a research-based evaluation
54 model that is grounded in student learning and teacher/principal effec-
55 tiveness research. The committee shall recommend an array of permissible
56 assessments for use within this new annual professional performance
A. 1651 3
1 review system. The committee shall further recommend how to measure
2 growth in a meaningful way that fairly and accurately captures teacher
3 or principal contribution to the student learning process over an appro-
4 priate interval of time. The committee shall carefully examine all
5 provisions of the current evaluation system, including current weights
6 attributable to various measures, to recommend what components thereof
7 should be continued and what should be discarded. The committee shall
8 provide a report of its recommendations by no later than September
9 first, two thousand twenty-seven.
10 § 3. Section 3012-c of the education law is amended by adding a new
11 subdivision 11 to read as follows:
12 11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to
13 the contrary, for the two thousand twenty-two--thousand twenty-three
14 through two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six school years,
15 or until such time that a new evaluation system has been adopted in
16 accordance with the provisions of subdivision eighteen of section three
17 thousand twelve-d of this article, whichever is later, school districts
18 and boards of cooperative educational services continuing to implement
19 their annual professional performance review plans pursuant to this
20 section shall provide transition scores and ratings that exclude any
21 student performance results based upon grades three through eight
22 English language arts and mathematics state assessments and/or state-
23 provided growth scores on regents examinations. Such transition scores
24 shall be a significant factor for employment decisions as set forth in
25 subdivision one of this section and to determine whether a teacher or
26 principal improvement plan shall be required pursuant to the provisions
27 of subdivision four of this section. The transition scores shall be
28 calculated in accordance with section 30-2.14 of the rules of the board
29 of regents, which shall be extended to remain effective during the tran-
30 sition period referenced hereinabove. The board of regents shall conform
31 section 30-2.14 to the provisions contained herein.
32 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.