Bill Text: WV SB1002 | 2010 | 1st Special Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to annual professional personnel evaluations in public schools
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-05-19 - Communicated to Senate [SB1002 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2010-SB1002-Engrossed.html
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.
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(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;
(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.
(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.
(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
(7) All official and enforceable personnel policies of a county board must be written and made available to its employees.
