BILL NUMBER: ABX1 15 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kaloogian
JANUARY 19, 1999
An act to amend Sections 33039, 44660, 44661, 44662, and 44664 of,
and to add Sections 44660.1 and 44664.1 to, the Education Code,
relating to teachers, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 15, as introduced, Kaloogian. Teacher Quality and Evaluation
Program.
(1) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that school
district governing boards establish a uniform system of evaluation
and assessment of the performance of certificated personnel.
Existing law requires the system to involve the development and
adoption by each school district of objective evaluation and
assessment guidelines. Existing law also requires the governing
board of each school district to adopt standards of expected pupil
achievement.
This bill would establish the Teacher Quality and Evaluation
Program to assess the effectiveness of teachers in ensuring that
their pupils progress through the school system and meet state
content and performance standards. The bill would require the State
Board of Education to establish objective and uniform assessment
guidelines for the performance of teachers and standards of expected
pupil achievement that are aligned with the state content and
performance standards. The bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by requiring every school district governing board to adopt
the guidelines and standards to be established by the State Board of
Education and by requiring every school district governing board to
evaluate pupil test scores to measure academic progress of pupils
taught by each teacher in the school district.
(2) Existing law prohibits the evaluation and assessment of
certificated employee performance from including the use of
publishers' norms established by standardized tests.
This bill would delete this provision.
(3) Under existing law, when a permanent certificated employee
receives an unsatisfactory evaluation, the employing authority is
required to annually evaluate the employee until the employee
achieves a positive evaluation or is separated from the district.
This bill would instead require, when any permanent certificated
employee has received an unsatisfactory evaluation, that the employee
be placed on probation for a period of 2 years and require the
employing authority to explore options to retrain the employee for
another profession, or encourage his or her retirement, if the
employee does not demonstrate satisfactory improvement in that time,
thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would
provide that disputes arising from the implementation of this
provision would be subject to binding arbitration unless a governing
contract or collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
(5) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 33039 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33039. The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines
which , as described in Section 44660, that
school districts may use shall adopt
in the development of teacher evaluation procedures pursuant to
Article 11 (commencing with Section 44660) of Chapter 1 of Part 25
of Division 3 of this title, and shall distribute such
those guidelines to every school district.
SEC. 2. Section 44660 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44660. It is the intent of the Legislature that
governing boards (a) The Legislature finds and
declares that teachers are an invaluable resource in California's
public schools and should be provided the services necessary to
ensure that they are able to help pupils reach their potential. Every
school district governing board shall establish a uniform
system of evaluation and assessment of the performance of all
certificated personnel within each school district of the state,
including schools conducted or maintained by county superintendents
of education . The system shall involve the development and
adoption by each school district of objective , based
on objective and uniform evaluation and assessment guidelines
which may, at the discretion of the governing board, be
uniform throughout the district or, for compelling reasons, be
individually developed for territories or schools within the
district, provided that all certificated personnel of the district
shall be subject to a system of evaluation and assessment adopted
pursuant to this article , which shall be established
by the State Board of Education and adopted by the governing board of
each school district .
This
(b) This article does not apply to certificated personnel
who are employed on an hourly basis in adult education classes.
SEC. 3. Section 44660.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44660.1. There is hereby established the Teacher Quality and
Evaluation Program to assess the effectiveness of teachers in
ensuring that their pupils progress through the school system and
meet the state content and performance standards adopted pursuant to
Section 60605.
SEC. 4. Section 44661 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44661. In the development and adoption of guidelines and
procedures pursuant to this article, the governing board
shall avail itself of the advice of the certificated instructional
personnel in the district's organization of certificated personnel
; provided, however, that the development and adoption of
guidelines pursuant to this article shall also be subject to the
provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 7100) of Chapter 2
of Part 5 of Division 1 of Title 1 .
SEC. 5. Section 44662 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44662. (a) The By January 1, 2000, the
State Board of Education shall establish, and the governing
board of each school district shall establish
adopt, standards of expected pupil achievement at
that are aligned with state content and performance
standards adopted pursuant to Section 60605 for each grade
level in each area of study.
(b) The governing board of each school district shall evaluate and
assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates
to:
(1) The progress of pupils toward the standards established
pursuant to subdivision (a). In addition, the governing board
of each school district shall evaluate data including, but not
limited to, pupil test scores from the statewide achievement test
administered pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of
Chapter 5 of Part 33 to measure the academic progress of pupils
taught by each teacher. The governing board of each school district
shall measure this academic progress by comparing the test scores of
each pupil when a teacher begins instructing that pupil to the test
scores of the pupil when the teacher ceases instructing the pupil.
The data reviewed by the governing board of each school district
shall include information regarding the socioeconomic status and
gender of pupils within each class.
(2) The 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.
(c) The governing board of each school district shall establish
and define job responsibilities for certificated noninstructional
personnel, including, but not limited to, supervisory and
administrative personnel, whose responsibilities cannot be evaluated
appropriately under the provisions of subdivision (b), and shall
evaluate and assess the performance of those noninstructional
certificated employees as it reasonably relates to the fulfillment of
those responsibilities.
(d) The evaluation and assessment of certificated
employee performance pursuant to this section shall not include the
use of publishers' norms established by standardized tests.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed
as in any way limiting limits the authority of
school district governing boards to develop and adopt additional
evaluation and assessment guidelines or criteria.
SEC. 6. Section 44664 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44664. (a) Evaluation and assessment of the performance of each
certificated employee shall be made on a continuing basis, at least
once each school year for probationary personnel, and at least every
other year for personnel with permanent status. The evaluation shall
include recommendations, if necessary, as to areas of improvement in
the performance of the employee and shall set future
performance expectations for the employee . In the
event If an employee is not performing his or her
duties in a satisfactory manner according to the standards
prescribed adopted by the governing board, the
employing authority shall notify the employee in writing of
such that fact and describe such
the unsatisfactory performance. The
employing authority shall thereafter confer with the employee making
specific recommendations as to areas of improvement in the employee's
performance and endeavor to assist the employee in such performance.
When any permanent certificated employee has received an
unsatisfactory evaluation, the employing authority shall
annually evaluate the employee until the employee achieves a positive
evaluation or is separated from the district employee
shall be placed on probation for a period of two years. The school
district shall assist the employee in developing an employee
improvement plan program pursuant to subdivision (b). If, after a
period of two years, the employee does not demonstrate satisfactory
improvement, the employing authority shall explore options to retrain
the employee for another profession or encourage his or her
retirement pursuant to Section 44929. Disputes arising from the
implementation of this section shall be subject to binding
arbitration unless a governing contract or collective bargaining
agreement provides otherwise .
(b) Any evaluation performed pursuant to this article
which that contains an unsatisfactory rating of
an employee's performance in the area of teaching methods or
instruction may shall include the
requirement that the certificated employee shall, as
determined necessary by the employing authority,
participate in a program designed to improve appropriate areas of the
employee's performance and to further pupil achievement and the
instructional objectives of the employing authority. The
program shall include the following services:
(1) Additional staff development in any subject area in which the
employee demonstrates weakness.
(2) Peer counseling or assistance.
(3) Additional coursework through an institution of higher
education.
(c) Hourly and temporary hourly certificated employees, other than
those employed in adult education classes who are excluded by the
provisions of Section 44660, and substitute teachers may be excluded
from the provisions of this section at the discretion of the
governing board.
SEC. 7. Section 44664.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44664.1. The Teacher Quality and Evaluation Program shall be
implemented to the extent funds for the program are made available in
the annual Budget Act or other item of appropriation.
SEC. 8. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.
SEC. 9. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order for teacher evaluation pursuant to the Teacher Quality
and Evaluation Program to begin at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.