HB 1291

                            Second Regular Session
                         Seventy-fifth General Assembly
                           STATE OF COLORADO
                                                                           INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 26-0165.04 Jacob Baus x2173  HOUSE BILL 26-1291
                             HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Hamrick and Goldstein,
                            SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Kolker,
House Committees  Senate Committees
Education
                                     A BILL FOR AN ACT
101CONCERNING MODIFICATIONS TO THE EXECUTION OF LICENSED
102PERSONNEL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.
                                           Bill Summary
               (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
       not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
       passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
       applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
       http://leg.colorado.gov.)
              Under current law, a local board of education's (local board) or
       board of cooperative services' (BOCES) licensed personnel employment
       performance system must ensure that nonprobationary teachers receive
       one evaluation resulting in a written evaluation report in each academic
       year.
              The bill requires that nonprobationary teachers receive one
           Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
        Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
              Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
evaluation resulting in a written evaluation report at least once every 3
academic years; except that, if a nonprobationary teacher receives a less
than effective rating, the local board or BOCES may require that the
nonprobationary teacher receive one evaluation that results in a written
evaluation report in the next academic year.
1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 22-9-102 as
3 follows:
422-9-102. Legislative declaration.
5(1) The general assembly hereby declares that:
6(a)   A system to evaluate EVALUATING the effectiveness of
7 licensed personnel is crucial ESSENTIAL to improving the quality of
8 education in this state and declares that such a system shall be applicable
9 to all licensed personnel in the school districts and boards of cooperative
10 services throughout the state; and INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT OUTCOMES
11 IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS;
12(b) The purposes of the evaluation shall be to: LOCAL BOARDS OF
13 EDUCATION AND BOARDS OF COOPERATIVE SERVICES ARE BEST
14 POSITIONED TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT EVALUATION SYSTEMS THAT
15 REFLECT LOCAL NEEDS AND STAFFING REALITIES, CONSISTENT WITH
16 GUIDING STATE STANDARDS;
17(I) Serve as a basis for the improvement of instruction;
18(II) Enhance the implementation of programs of curriculum;
19(III) Serve as a measurement of the professional growth and
20 development of licensed personnel;
21(IV) Evaluate the level of performance based on the effectiveness
22 of licensed personnel; and
23(V) Provide a basis for making decisions in the areas of hiring,
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1 compensation, promotion, assignment, professional development, earning
2 and retaining nonprobationary status, dismissal, and nonrenewal of
3 contract.
4(c)   REQUIRING ANNUAL FORMAL EVALUATIONS FOR ALL
5 NONPROBATIONARY TEACHERS CAN STRAIN LIMITED ADMINISTRATIVE
6 CAPACITY WITHOUT NECESSARILY IMPROVING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE;
7 AND
8(d) ALLOWING DISTRICTS TO CONDUCT FORMAL EVALUATIONS OF
9 NONPROBATIONARY TEACHERS ON A PERIODIC BASIS, WHILE MAINTAINING
10 ANNUAL EVALUATIONS FOR PROBATIONARY AND LESS THAN EFFECTIVE
11 TEACHERS,     SUPPORTS    MEANINGFUL      FEEDBACK,      INSTRUCTIONAL
12 IMPROVEMENT, AND ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY.
13(2) The general assembly further declares that a professionally
14 sound and credible system to evaluate the effectiveness of licensed
15 personnel shall be designed with the involvement of licensed personnel
16 and citizens of the school district or board of cooperative services
17 THEREFORE, IT IS THE INTENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO GRANT
18 LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS OR BOARDS OF COOPERATIVE SERVICES
19 FLEXIBILITY REGARDING EVALUATION FREQUENCY AND THE DESIGNATION
20 OF QUALIFIED EVALUATORS WITHIN THEIR LICENSED PERSONNEL
21 EVALUATION SYSTEMS.
22(3) The general assembly further declares that the involvement
23 and support of parents of children in public schools, acting as partners
24 with teachers and public school administrators, are key to the educational
25 progress of their children.
26SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-9-106, amend (1)
27 introductory portion, (1)(c) introductory portion, and (1)(c)(II); and add
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1 (10) as follows:
222-9-106. Local boards of education - duties - performance
3 evaluation system - compliance - rules.
4(1) All school districts and boards A LOCAL BOARD OR A BOARD
5 of cooperative services that employ EMPLOYS licensed personnel shall
6 adopt a written system to evaluate the employment performance of school
7 district and OR board of cooperative services licensed personnel,
8 including all teachers, principals, and administrators, with the exception
9 of licensed personnel employed by a board of cooperative services for a
10 period of six weeks or less. In developing the licensed personnel
11 performance evaluation system and any amendments, thereto the local
12 board and board of cooperative services shall comply with subsection
13 (1.5) of this section and shall consult with administrators, principals, and
14 teachers employed within the district or participating districts in a board
15 of cooperative services, parents, and the school district licensed personnel
16 performance evaluation council or the board of cooperative services
17 personnel performance evaluation council created pursuant to section
18 22-9-107. The performance evaluation system must address all of the
19 performance standards established by rule of the state board and adopted
20 by the general assembly pursuant to section 22-9-105.5, and must contain,
21 but need not be limited to, the following information:
22(c) The frequency and duration of the evaluations, which must be
23 on a regular basis and of such A frequency and duration as to ensure THAT
24 ENSURES the collection of a sufficient amount of data from which reliable
25 conclusions and findings may be drawn. At a minimum, the performance
26 LICENSED PERSONNEL evaluation system must ensure that:
27(II) (A)     Nonprobationary teachers receive at least one
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1 DOCUMENTED observation each academic year and one evaluation that
2 results in a written evaluation report pursuant to subsection (3) of this
3 section each academic year according to the performance standards
4 established by rule of the state board and adopted by the general assembly
5 pursuant to section 22-9-105.5. Nonprobationary teachers AT LEAST ONCE
6 EVERY THREE ACADEMIC YEARS. A NONPROBATIONARY TEACHER must
7 receive the written evaluation report at least two weeks before the last
8 class day of the school year IN WHICH THE EVALUATION IS CONDUCTED.
9(B) FOR A NONPROBATIONARY TEACHER WHO RECEIVES A LESS
10 THAN EFFECTIVE RATING, THE LOCAL BOARD OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE
11 SERVICES SHALL REQUIRE THAT THE NONPROBATIONARY TEACHER
12 RECEIVES AT LEAST ONE DOCUMENTED OBSERVATION IN THE NEXT
13 ACADEMIC YEAR AND ONE EVALUATION THAT RESULTS IN A WRITTEN
14 EVALUATION REPORT PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (3) OF THIS SECTION IN
15 THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR.
16(10) THIS SECTION, INCLUDING SUBSECTION (1)(c) OF THIS SECTION
17 CONCERNING THE FREQUENCY OF FORMAL EVALUATIONS, DOES NOT
18 PROHIBIT A LOCAL BOARD OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE SERVICES FROM
19 ADOPTING, OR A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE SERVICES
20 FROM IMPLEMENTING AND MAINTAINING, A LICENSED PERSONNEL
21 EVALUATION POLICY OR LICENSED PERSONNEL EVALUATION SYSTEM THAT
22 INCLUDES INFORMAL EVALUATIONS, OBSERVATIONS, COACHING, OR
23 FEEDBACK THAT IS UNRELATED TO THE EVALUATION DESCRIBED IN THIS
24 SECTION BUT THAT IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING A LICENSED
25 PERSONNEL AND THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
26SECTION 3.        Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
27 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
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1 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
2 the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state
3 institutions.
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