BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1292|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1292
          Author:   Liu (D), et al.
          Amended:  5/2/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 4/25/12
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu, 
            Price, Simitian, Vargas
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Vacancy


           SUBJECT  :    School employees:  principals:  evaluation

           SOURCE  :     Association of California School Administrators


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes school districts to 
          evaluate principals and establishes provisions to guide 
          principal evaluation.  

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, the Stull Act, expresses the 
          intent of the Legislature that governing boards establish a 
          uniform system of evaluation and assessment of the 
          performance of all certificated personnel within each 
          school district.  The system must involve the development 
          and adoption of objective evaluation and assessment 
          guidelines that may be uniform throughout the district or, 
          for compelling reasons, differ by regions within the 
          district, provided that all certificated personnel of the 
          district are subject to a system of evaluation and 
          assessment.  

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          2

          The Stull Act further requires school districts to evaluate 
          and assess the performance of certificated employees as it 
          reasonably relates to the following:  
          1.The progress of pupils towards locally-adopted standards 
            and if applicable, state-adopted academic content 
            standards as measured by state-adopted criterion 
            referenced tests.  

          2.Instructional techniques and strategies used by the 
            employee.  

          3.The employee's adherence to curricular objectives.  

          4.The establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning 
            environment within the scope of the employee's 
            responsibilities.  

          The Stull Act further requires governing boards to 
          establish and define job responsibilities for certificated 
          noninstructional employees, such as supervisory and 
          administrative personnel, and requires them to be evaluated 
          appropriately with regard to the fulfillment of those 
          responsibilities.  

          Existing law requires school principals to have a 
          preliminary or professional administrative services 
          credential and requires, among other things, applicants for 
          a preliminary administrative services credential to have at 
          least three years of successful, full-time classroom 
          teaching experience in the public schools or in private 
          schools of equivalent status, or three years of experience 
          in the fields of pupil personnel, health, clinical or 
          rehabilitative, or librarian services. 

          This bill:

          1.Makes findings and declarations relating to the need for 
            State and local educational agencies, not the federal 
            government, to determine the process for implementing 
            principal evaluations; the obligation to evaluate 
            principals fairly, consistently, and effectively using 
            multiple methods; and the characteristics of an effective 
            evaluation system.  


                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          3

          2.Expresses the intent of the Legislature that evaluators 
            receive training for the purpose of calibrating 
            evaluations when funds become available.  

          3.Specifies that a school principal may be evaluated 
            annually in the first and second year of employment with 
            a district and authorizes governing boards to determine 
            the interval thereafter; permits additional evaluations 
            to be agreed upon between the evaluator and the 
            principal.  

          4.Specifies that evaluators and principals may review 
            school success and progress relative to goals defined by 
            the school district.  

          5.Specifies that criteria for principal evaluations may be 
            based on the California Professional Standards for 
            Educational Leaders (CPSELs).  Codifies the standards and 
            identifies effective leadership as a school administrator 
            as being an educational leader who promotes the success 
            of all pupils by doing through leadership that fosters:

             A.   A shared vision.
             B.   Effective teaching and learning.
             C.   Management and safety.
             D.   Parent, family, and community involvement.
             E.   Professional and ethical leadership.
             F.   Contextual awareness.

          1.Authorizes a school principal evaluation to include the 
            following:  

             A.   Pupil academic growth based on multiple measures, 
               as specified.  

             B.   Effective and comprehensive teacher evaluations.  

             C.   Culturally responsive instructional strategies to 
               address and eliminate the achievement gap.  

             D.   The ability to analyze instructional strategies and 
               provide effective feedback to facilitate instructional 
               improvement.  


                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          4

             E.   High expectations for pupils and leadership to 
               ensure active pupil engagement and learning.  

             F.   Collaborative professional practices.  

             G.   Effective school management.  

             H.   Meaningful self-assessment to improve as a 
               professional educator.  

             I.   Consistent and effective relationships with pupils, 
               parents, teachers, staff, and other administrators.  

          1.Authorizes the use of Title I and Title II carryover 
            funds and any other available state and federal funds to 
            be used to implement the act.  

          2.Requires local agencies and school districts to be 
            reimbursed for costs if the Commission on State Mandates 
            determines that this act contains costs mandated by the 
            state.  

           Comments

           According to the Senate Education Committee analysis, this 
          bill gives local educational agencies (LEAs) authority they 
          already have to implement systems and criteria for 
          evaluating school principals.  However, the bill addresses 
          broader policy questions about the need for effective 
          teacher and principal evaluation systems and the extent to 
          which those systems are a matter of local control.  The 
          U.S. Department of Education has expressed its desire for 
          states to have effective educator evaluation systems and 
          has indicated such systems are required for states 
          submitting an application to waive selected provisions of 
          the No Child Left Behind authorization of the Elementary 
          and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act of 1965.  The federal 
          waiver requirements specify that to receive flexibility a 
          state and each LEA must commit to develop, adopt, pilot, 
          and implement, with the involvement of teachers and 
          principals, teacher and principal evaluation and support 
          systems that:  

          1.Will be used for continual improvement and instruction;

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          5


          2.Meaningfully differentiate performance using at least 
            three performance levels; 

          3.Use multiple valid measures in determining performance 
            levels,

          4.including as a significant factor data on student growth 
            for all students (including English learners and students 
            with disabilities), and other measures of professional 
            practice;

          5.Evaluate teachers and principals on a regular basis;

          6.Provide clear, timely, and useful feedback, including 
            feedback that identifies needs and guides professional 
            development; and 

          7.Will be used to inform personnel decisions.  

          The requirements further state that a state must develop 
          and adopt guidelines for these systems and LEAs must 
          develop and implement teacher and principal evaluation and 
          support systems that are consistent with the state's 
          guidelines.  According to the California Department of 
          Education, a cost-benefit analysis of the waiver 
          requirements suggested that the state would face 
          significant challenges in meeting the waiver criteria 
          including necessary legislation to implement selected 
          principles and potential state-mandated local costs.  To 
          date, the SBE has not taken action to seek a waiver of ESEA 
          provisions.  

          Although this bill asserts that determining the process for 
          implementing principal evaluations is not a matter for the 
          federal government but rather the state and school 
          districts, it is possible that funds for federal programs 
          may eventually be conditioned on California having a 
          principal evaluation system that meets specified criteria.  
          If the voluntary process this bill establishes proves 
          inconsistent with federal requirements, the Legislature may 
          need to revisit this legislation in the future.  

          The Superintendent of Public Instruction has established a 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          6

          task force on Educator Excellence which is examining 
          various dimensions of educator quality, including effective 
          evaluation.  The task force expects to complete its work 
          and make recommendations later this year.  In light of the 
          uncertain policy climate, would it make sense for the SBE 
          to develop guidelines for a principal evaluation system 
          that would be informed by all of these factors?  

           California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders  .  
          This bill codifies the current set of standards that 
          outline the traits that an effective principal should 
          possess.  These standards follow the 2008 Interstate School 
          Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards for School 
          Leaders that have changed little since the original 1996 
          ISLLC standards.  In 2001, representatives from the 
          California School Leadership Academy at WestEd, the 
          Association of California School Administrators, the 
          California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the 
          California Department of Education, and various California 
          colleges and universities adapted the ISLLC standards to 
          establish the current set of six CPSELs.  The CPSELS guide 
          the practice of school administrators and inform 
          preparation programs that lead to the administrative 
          services credential.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT :   (Verified  5/2/12)

          Association of California School Administrators (source) 
          California School Boards Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          the Education Code requires a principal to be evaluated but 
          provides no direction as to what should be considered and 
          why.  While some school districts have established their 
          own principal evaluation systems, many have not.  The 
          stated intent of SB 1292 is to provide a foundation to work 
          from while providing the necessary flexibility to tailor an 
          evaluation plan to meet a district's needs.  


          PQ:nl  5/2/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               SB 1292
                                                                Page 
          7


                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****









































                                                           CONTINUED