3012-C - Annual professional performance review of classroom teachers and building principals.
§ 3012-c. Annual professional performance review of classroom teachers and building principals. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the annual professional performance reviews of all classroom teachers and building principals employed by school districts or boards of cooperative educational services shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such performance reviews which are conducted on or after July first, two thousand eleven, or on or after the date specified in paragraph c of subdivision two of this section where applicable, shall include measures of student achievement and be conducted in accordance with this section. Such annual professional performance reviews shall be a significant factor for employment decisions including but not limited to, promotion, retention, tenure determination, termination, and supplemental compensation, which decisions are to be made in accordance with locally developed procedures negotiated pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. Such performance reviews shall also be a significant factor in teacher and principal development, including but not limited to, coaching, induction support and differentiated professional development, which are to be locally established in accordance with procedures negotiated pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. 2. a. The annual professional performance reviews conducted pursuant to this section for classroom teachers and building principals shall differentiate teacher and principal effectiveness using the following quality rating categories: highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective, with explicit minimum and maximum scoring ranges for each category, as prescribed in the regulations of the commissioner. Such annual professional performance reviews shall result in a single composite teacher or principal effectiveness score, which incorporates multiple measures of effectiveness related to the criteria included in the regulations of the commissioner. Except for the student growth measures prescribed in paragraphs e, f and g of this subdivision, the elements comprising the composite effectiveness score shall be locally developed, consistent with the standards prescribed in the regulations of the commissioner, through negotiations conducted, pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. b. Annual professional performance reviews conducted by school districts on or after July first, two thousand eleven of classroom teachers of common branch subjects or English language arts or mathematics in grades four to eight and all building principals of schools in which such teachers are employed shall be conducted pursuant to this subdivision and shall use two thousand ten--two thousand eleven school year student data as the baseline for the initial computation of the composite teacher or principal effectiveness score for such classroom teachers and principals. c. Annual professional performance reviews conducted by school districts or boards of cooperative educational services on or after July first, two thousand twelve of all classroom teachers and all building principals shall be conducted pursuant to this subdivision and shall use two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year student data as the baseline for the initial computation of the composite teacher or principal effectiveness score for such classroom teachers and principals. For purposes of this section, an administrator in charge of an instructional program of a board of cooperative educational services shall be deemed to be a building principal. d. Prior to any evaluation being conducted in accordance with this section, each individual who is responsible for conducting an evaluationof a teacher or building principal shall receive appropriate training in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner of education. e. For annual professional performance reviews conducted in accordance with paragraph b of this subdivision in the two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year, forty percent of the composite score of effectiveness shall be based on student achievement measures as follows: (i) twenty percent of the evaluation shall be based upon student growth data on state assessments as prescribed by the commissioner or a comparable measure of student growth if such growth data is not available; and (ii) twenty percent shall be based on other locally selected measures of student achievement that are determined to be rigorous and comparable across classrooms in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner and as are developed locally in a manner consistent with procedures negotiated pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. f. For annual professional performance reviews conducted in accordance with paragraph c of this subdivision in any school year prior to the first school year for which the board of regents has approved use of a value-added growth model, but not earlier than the two thousand twelve--two thousand thirteen school year, forty percent of the composite score of effectiveness shall be based on student achievement measures as follows: (i) twenty percent of the evaluation shall be based upon student growth data on state assessments as prescribed by the commissioner or a comparable measure of student growth if such growth data is not available; and (ii) twenty percent shall be based on other locally selected measures of student achievement that are determined to be rigorous and comparable across classrooms in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner and as are developed locally in a manner consistent with procedures negotiated pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. g. For annual professional performance reviews conducted in accordance with paragraph c of this subdivision in the first school year for which the board of regents has approved use of a value-added growth model and thereafter, forty percent of the composite score of effectiveness shall be based on student achievement measures as follows: (i) twenty-five percent of the evaluation shall be based upon student growth data on state assessments as prescribed by the commissioner or a comparable measure of student growth if such growth data is not available; and (ii) fifteen percent shall be based on other locally selected measures of student achievement that are determined to be rigorous and comparable across classrooms in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner and as are locally developed in a manner consistent with procedures negotiated pursuant to the requirements of article fourteen of the civil service law. The department shall develop the value-added growth model and shall consult with the advisory committee established pursuant to subdivision seven of this section prior to recommending that the board of regents approve its use in evaluations. h. The remaining percent of the evaluations, ratings and effectiveness scores shall be locally developed, consistent with the standards prescribed in the regulations of the commissioner, through negotiations conducted pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law. i. For purposes of this section, student growth means the change in student achievement for an individual student between two or more points in time. 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to excuse school districts or boards of cooperative educational services from complying with the standards set forth in the regulations of the commissioner for conducting annual professional performance reviews of classroom teachersor principals, including but not limited to required quality rating categories, in conducting evaluations prior to July first, two thousand eleven, or, for classroom teachers or principals subject to paragraph c of subdivision two of this section, prior to July first, two thousand twelve. 4. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, upon rating a teacher or a principal as developing or ineffective through an annual professional performance review conducted pursuant to subdivision two of this section, the school district or board of cooperative educational services shall formulate and commence implementation of a teacher or principal improvement plan for such teacher or principal as soon as practicable but in no case later than ten days after the date on which teachers are required to report prior to the opening of classes for the school year. Such improvement plan shall be consistent with the regulations of the commissioner and developed locally through negotiations conducted pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law. Such improvement plan shall include, but need not be limited to, identification of needed areas of improvement, a timeline for achieving improvement, the manner in which improvement will be assessed, and, where appropriate, differentiated activities to support a teacher's or principal's improvement in those areas. 5. An appeals procedure shall be locally established in each school district and in each board of cooperative educational services by which the evaluated teacher or principal may only challenge the substance of the annual professional performance review, the school district's or board of cooperative educational services' adherence to the standards and methodologies required for such reviews, pursuant to this section, the adherence to the regulations of the commissioner and compliance with any applicable locally negotiated procedures, as well as the school district's or board of cooperative educational services' issuance and/or implementation of the terms of the teacher or principal improvement plan, as required under this section. The specifics of the appeal procedure shall be locally established through negotiations conducted pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law. An evaluation which is the subject of an appeal shall not be sought to be offered in evidence or placed in evidence in any proceeding conducted pursuant to either section three thousand twenty-a of this article or any locally negotiated alternate disciplinary procedure, until the appeal process is concluded. 6. For purposes of disciplinary proceedings pursuant to sections three thousand twenty and three thousand twenty-a of this article, a pattern of ineffective teaching or performance shall be defined to mean two consecutive annual ineffective ratings received by a classroom teacher or building principal pursuant to annual professional performance reviews conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section. 7. The regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be developed in consultation with an advisory committee consisting of representatives of teachers, principals, superintendents of schools, school boards, school district and board of cooperative educational services officials and other interested parties. The regulations shall also take into account any (i) professional teaching standards; (ii) standards for professional contexts; and (iii) standards for a continuum of system support for teachers and principals developed in consultation with the advisory committee. Regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall be effective no later than July first, two thousand eleven, for implementation in the two thousand eleven--two thousand twelve school year.8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, all collective bargaining agreements applicable to classroom teachers or building principals entered into after July first, two thousand ten shall be consistent with requirements of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate any conflicting provisions of any collective bargaining agreement in effect on July first, two thousand ten during the term of such agreement and until the entry into a successor collective bargaining agreement, provided that notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, upon expiration of such term and the entry into a successor collective bargaining agreement the provisions of this section shall apply. Furthermore, nothing in this section or in any rule or regulation promulgated hereunder shall in any way, alter, impair or diminish the rights of a local collective bargaining representative to negotiate evaluation procedures in accordance with article fourteen of the civil service law with the school district or board of cooperative educational services.