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