Background: In 2010 the Legislature passed E2SSB 6696 that included, among other things, changes to the teacher evaluation system.

Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems. The legislation directed development of revised evaluation systems for teachers and principals, including eight new evaluation criteria for teachers, eight criteria for principals, and a four-level rating system using a continuum of performance based on the extent the criteria have been met.

The revised evaluation systems have been implemented in eight pilot school districts plus one consortium of small rural school districts, beginning with a design phase in 2010-11 and trial implementation in 2011-12. Revised teacher and principal evaluation systems must be implemented in all school districts beginning with the 2013-14 school year.

Short-Form Evaluation. After a teacher or other certificated instructional staff has four years of satisfactory evaluations, the school district may use a short form of evaluation, a locally-bargained professional growth option, a regular evaluation, or some combination A regular evaluation must be conducted at least once every three years, unless the local bargaining agreement extends this time period. A teacher under the revised system will be eligible for a short form of evaluation after four years at one of the top two evaluation ratings.

Evaluation Training. School districts must require any supervisor with responsibility for evaluation to have training in evaluation procedures, and a supervisor may not evaluate a teacher without having received such training.

Teacher and Principal Certification. The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) establishes requirements for renewal of educator certificates. Rather than requiring a certain number of hours of continuing education, the PESB is moving toward requiring teachers and principals to establish individualized professional growth plans under which a range of planned activities may occur that are intended to improve their knowledge and skills.

Statewide Salary Allocation Schedule. The statewide salary allocation schedule provides financial incentives for teachers to earn additional continuing education credits or clock hours of professional development. There are statutory guidelines for the education or training that may be counted on the salary schedule.

Summary of Bill: The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) must develop a comprehensive online training package for principals and superintendents on the revised teacher and principal evaluation systems, along with a modified version to serve as an orientation for teachers.

The OSPI must incorporate or adapt existing curriculum to the maximum extent feasible, including contracting for or purchasing materials within available funds. The online training package must be developed using a reasonable number of modules that users can access in a self-directed manner, it must incorporate multiple modes of instruction, such as videos; participatory exercises; and other combinations of audio, video, and print. The OSPI must identify the number of inservice training hours associated with each module and develop a way for users to document completion. Minimum content for the package is specified.

All teachers and principals employed by a school district must complete the online training – or an equivalent as determined by the district – before the end of the 2013-14 school year. School districts must collect documentation of this for personnel files.

The PESB must incorporate continuing education or demonstrated knowledge and competencies related to the revised teacher and principal evaluation systems as a requirement for renewal of a continuing or professional certificate. Completion of the OSPI online training package satisfies this requirement.

Training in revised teacher evaluation systems, including the OSPI online training, qualifies for purposes of accumulating credits on the statewide salary allocation schedule.

Collective bargaining agreements may no longer extend the use of short-form evaluations for longer than three years before requiring a return to a regular evaluation.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: Providing quality and effective training for teachers, principals, and administrators is the most critical component for successful implementation of TPE. We are pleased to see the bill recognizes that training is crucial to effective implementation. The parties need to co-own the development, and this does not happen quickly. We have already put in motion the pilot study and are committed to wait for those impacts to be learned. Extending the timeline is difficult. While we might support the bill in its basic concept, it is more important to recognize the work of the pilots and then implement the guidelines.