Bill would end annual teacher evaluations

By: Mary Ann Koruth
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Lawmakers in the assembly education committee approved a bill Thursday [12/14/2023] that would eliminate annual teacher evaluations, despite opposition from a majority of New Jersey's education stakeholders, indignant the state principals' and superintendents' association.
..... The state;s largest teachers' union, the New Jersey Education Association, was the only group in favor of the measure. Opponents said the bill was unnecessarily being rushed through the Legislature's lame duck session, before newly elected politicians take office in January. [2024] the bill was introduced December 11. [2023]
..... Bill A5877 would have teacher evaluations occur once every two or three years for tenured teachers rather than annually. for teachers who don't meet the highest standards and are deemed "partially effective" or Ineffective," the evaluations would occur every year, but on different schedules linked to their rating each year.
..... Ending annual evaluating would carve out "informal time for veteran educators to support junior staff. The current trajectory is failing to keep teachers in the system," Deborah Cornavaca, the NJEA's director of government relations told lawmakers Thursday. [12/14/2023]
..... Every evaluation did not need to be "a high stakes process," she said. The additional work of preparing for these evaluations contributes to the problem of teachers exiting the field, adding to the teacher shortage, she said.
..... Teacher evaluations does not contribute to "any meaningful difference" in student outcomes, while teacher collaboration does, according to "broad national research data," Cornavanca told NorthJersey.com .
..... Working on evaluations can take up to a week out of teacher's schedules, NJEA spokesperson Steven Baker said. "I would rather have teachers spend 40 hours developing an innovative lesson plan," he said.
..... Nealy every other stakeholder at the hearing - including the state superintendents' association, the state principals and supervisor's association, and advocacy groups such as the garden State coalitions for Schools and JerseyCAN - opposed ending annual evaluations.
..... Critics of the bill agreed with the NJEA that the teacher evaluation process is highly bureaucratic, but any fixes to how schools assess teachers quality needed more examination and more time, they said.
..... "There are ways to address the paperwork," said Debra Bradley, director of government relations with the state principals and superiors association.
..... Lawmakers, for example, could approve a separate bill of smaller scope that relieves teachers from administrative work by eliminating some measures and goals related to student growth that many say are redundant.
..... "This bill proposes no evaluation for two or three years for most teachers. That's problematic because evaluation isn't a negative thing," said Bradley.

Poorly preforming teachers could remain for longer

..... Principals and superiors are supportive of doing most other work involved in conducting teacher evaluations annually, but language in the bill suggests that off-year classroom observations might not make the ;"summative" evaluation, she said.
..... "The workload is on us. Every observations and evaluation woe do, we have to write it up, document it, meet with the teacher,' she said. "Many principals and supervisors say their teachers tell them they enjoy the evaluations because they learn so much," Bradley said.
..... The change are also an administrative burden because evaluations schedules would now depend on individual teacher ratings. Another concern was the bill could result in poorly performing teachers receiving an extra ear tacked on to the two years they currently have following a poor evaluation, she said.
..... Evaluations, should not be considered "punitive" and "if our principals feel there is value in keeping this in place, we support it," Jonathan Pushman, director of government relations with the New Jersey Schools Board Association, told lawmakers.
..... "Yes, there's a huge teacher retention problem and shortage, but as we are trying to attack more teaches, evaluational is a way of ensuring no diminished in New Jersey teacher quality," he said.
..... The bill passed the committee. A senate version has not yet been acted on in committee.
.... Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Voorhees), chair of the Assembly Education Committee and sponsor of the bill, said the measure was proposed to collect testimony and better understand what was at stake. The bill would be heard again in another committee, she said, before it takes final shape.

Bill would regulate remote instruction

..... A second bill, a5874, that also passed out of committee would require schools to directly employ professionals for certain jobs or roles rather than contracting out or using vendors, a change opposed by all except the NJEA.
..... Stakeholders said this would limit options for schools to fill open positions and find resources, because many parties prefer to sign contracts than be employed by schools.
..... It would also, for the first time, limit school boards and superintendents from using third party vendors for virtual or remote instruction and prioritizes in-person constrictor. It would require schools to get approval from the Department of Education for virtual instructors or vendors, except for financial, business and entrepreneurship literacy courses, which can be delivered remotely.
..... The move would regulate the unchartered territory of how schools provide remote instruction. The availability of virtual instruction platforms has grown after the pandemic when schools went Online.
..... The NJEA testified in favor, but the rest of the stakeholders opposed, saying it handcuffed superintendents and school boards, preventing them from finding Online vendors to teach courses or subjects during the teacher shortage.
..... Asked if limiting third party vendors had to do with protecting the jobs of NJEA members, Baker said the COVID-19 pandemic showed that in-person teaching was "the gold standard." It wouldn't make sense to hire vendors who don't meet the high standards for certification and evaluations in place in New Jersey, he said.
..... "This bill ensures that schools and students will be undeserved, and superintendents held responsible for the consequences," said Melanie Schultz of the state superintendents; association. The group was also conferenced with the Department of Education's ability to handle and regulate virtual instruction, she said.
..... A distinct, for example, can currently approve Online Italian language lessons to fulfill world language requirements when it cannot find a teacher for the job. the bill would end that flexibility, said a stakeholder.
..... A Senate version of the bill has not moved forward yet.

HOME