82R10348 PAM-D

By: Villarreal H.B. No. 3058

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a program for developing alternative local models for the appraisal and professional development of public school teachers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H-1. LOCAL APPRAISAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM

Sec. 21.381. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program" means the local appraisal and professional development program.

Sec. 21.382. LOCAL APPRAISAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. (a) To promote the rapid development of models for improved approaches to teacher appraisal and professional development, the commissioner by rule shall establish a local appraisal and professional development program under which school districts receive program grants from the agency funded with agency money that may be used for the purpose, including any such appropriated money, to use in planning and conducting trials of models of teacher appraisal and professional development as an alternative to the recommended appraisal process under Section 21.351.

(b) In establishing the program, the commissioner, in consultation with the committee established under Subsection (c), shall adopt program guidelines for a school district to follow in developing a local plan in accordance with the criteria established under Section 21.383.

(c) The commissioner shall appoint a committee of interested persons, including classroom teachers with appropriate experience, as determined by the commissioner, agency staff, education policy makers, representatives of educator preparation programs and educator associations, and educators with appropriate experience, as determined by the commissioner, in teacher development and evaluation, to assist the commissioner in developing the program guidelines.

Sec. 21.383. LOCAL PLANS. (a) With respect to the content of a local plan developed by a school district under this subchapter, a local plan must define:

(1) professional standards of teaching practice, including:

(A) planning and preparation;

(B) instruction;

(C) managing a classroom;

(D) communicating with families;

(E) collaborating with professional colleagues; and

(F) other aspects of discharging professional responsibilities;

(2) standards for assessing teaching practices using multiple measures of teacher performance, including student learning, with no single measure given predominant weight;

(3) standards for teaching and learning conditions, including:

(A) preparation and collaboration time;

(B) facility and resource availability;

(C) teacher autonomy;

(D) school safety and discipline; and

(E) community support services availability for students and families of students;

(4) standards for professional development support systems that provide opportunities for teachers at all levels of experience to continuously improve, including mentoring, coaching, and other forms of peer support; and

(5) standards for implementing the local plan, including:

(A) providing definitions of teacher performance, including excellent, acceptable, and less than competent performance;

(B) providing training requirements for evaluators;

(C) providing opportunities for teacher self-evaluation;

(D) providing prompt assessments based on reliable measurements;

(E) providing frequent collaboration between teacher and evaluator designed to enhance professional improvement; and

(F) ensuring data integrity and transparency.

(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), in using student learning as one measure of teacher performance, student learning must be measured using multiple, research-based measures, with no single measure given predominant weight.

(c) With respect to the process for developing a local plan under this subchapter, the school district must:

(1) develop the plan in consultation with interested persons, including district classroom teachers who may be subject to the plan's appraisal and professional development process, students and parents of students in the district, community representatives, and faculty members of local educator preparation programs;

(2) establish teacher participation in and approval of the development of the plan by documenting a vote of approval of at least two-thirds of the classroom teachers at each campus that intends to participate in the local plan; and

(3) provide notice to classroom teachers described by Subdivision (2), before any vote under Subdivision (2), of specific criteria and any performance measures, including formulas, on which teacher appraisals will be based.

Sec. 21.384. APPROVAL; CONDITIONS. (a) A school district shall submit the district's local plan to the agency for approval. The plan must be submitted with documentation of teacher involvement in development of the plan as described by Section 21.383(c).

(b) The agency may approve only local plans that meet program guidelines adopted by the commissioner and that satisfy the criteria established by Section 21.383.

(c) A school district whose local plan is approved by the agency to receive a program grant under this subchapter may renew the plan for not more than two consecutive years.

(d) As a condition of approval, the school district must agree to evaluation of the district's local plan as provided by Section 21.386.

Sec. 21.385. PRIVATE FUNDING. The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations to fund a grant administered under this subchapter.

Sec. 21.386. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM. Using agency money that may be used for the purpose, including any such appropriated money, the agency shall contract with an impartial, independent entity to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the program. The evaluation must include:

(1) a descriptive analysis of the development and implementation of the program at participating campuses or school districts, including detailed descriptions of the models used by the campuses or districts for teacher appraisal and professional development;

(2) detailed information regarding standards for assessing teaching practices under the program, including measures for teacher performance used by the campuses in assessing teaching practices;

(3) a comprehensive, quantitative analysis of the impact of the program at participating campuses or districts, including the impact of the various models used by the campuses or districts on key outcomes in the program; and

(4) a summary of the models used by participating campuses or districts for teacher appraisal and professional development and an assessment of whether those models are used effectively by the participating campuses or districts.

Sec. 21.387. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2016, the agency shall prepare and deliver to each member of the legislature a report describing the results of the program under this subchapter, including the results of the evaluation conducted in accordance with Section 21.386.

Sec. 21.388. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to administer this subchapter.

Sec. 21.389. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires June 1, 2017.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.