BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1292|
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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;
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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
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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
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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