IL
Illinois House Bill HB3945

Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3945 Compare Versions

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11 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3945 Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Provides that school districts may not tie teacher performance evaluations to a entire school's standardized testing performance or to a curriculum area in which the teacher is not certified. LRB103 30079 RJT 56503 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3945 Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Provides that school districts may not tie teacher performance evaluations to a entire school's standardized testing performance or to a curriculum area in which the teacher is not certified. LRB103 30079 RJT 56503 b LRB103 30079 RJT 56503 b A BILL FOR
22 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3945 Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
33 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
44 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
55 Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Provides that school districts may not tie teacher performance evaluations to a entire school's standardized testing performance or to a curriculum area in which the teacher is not certified.
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1111 1 AN ACT concerning education.
1212 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1313 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1414 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
1515 5 24A-5 as follows:
1616 6 (105 ILCS 5/24A-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5)
1717 7 Sec. 24A-5. Content of evaluation plans. This Section
1818 8 does not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in
1919 9 an agreement entered into between the board of a school
2020 10 district operating under Article 34 of this Code and the
2121 11 exclusive representative of the district's teachers in
2222 12 accordance with Section 34-85c of this Code.
2323 13 Each school district to which this Article applies shall
2424 14 establish a teacher evaluation plan which ensures that each
2525 15 teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least
2626 16 once in the course of every 2 or 3 school years as provided in
2727 17 this Section.
2828 18 Each school district shall establish a teacher evaluation
2929 19 plan that ensures that:
3030 20 (1) each teacher not in contractual continued service
3131 21 is evaluated at least once every school year; and
3232 22 (2) except as otherwise provided in this Section, each
3333 23 teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at
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3737 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3945 Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3838 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
3939 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
4040 Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Provides that school districts may not tie teacher performance evaluations to a entire school's standardized testing performance or to a curriculum area in which the teacher is not certified.
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6868 1 least once in the course of every 2 school years. However,
6969 2 any teacher in contractual continued service whose
7070 3 performance is rated as either "needs improvement" or
7171 4 "unsatisfactory" must be evaluated at least once in the
7272 5 school year following the receipt of such rating.
7373 6 No later than September 1, 2022, each school district must
7474 7 establish a teacher evaluation plan that ensures that each
7575 8 teacher in contractual continued service whose performance is
7676 9 rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" is evaluated at
7777 10 least once in the course of the 3 school years after receipt of
7878 11 the rating and implement an informal teacher observation plan
7979 12 established by agency rule and by agreement of the joint
8080 13 committee established under subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of
8181 14 this Code that ensures that each teacher in contractual
8282 15 continued service whose performance is rated as either
8383 16 "excellent" or "proficient" is informally observed at least
8484 17 once in the course of the 2 school years after receipt of the
8585 18 rating.
8686 19 For the 2022-2023 school year only, if the Governor has
8787 20 declared a disaster due to a public health emergency pursuant
8888 21 to Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act,
8989 22 a school district may waive the evaluation requirement of all
9090 23 teachers in contractual continued service whose performances
9191 24 were rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" during the
9292 25 last school year in which the teachers were evaluated under
9393 26 this Section.
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104104 1 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section
105105 2 or any other Section of this Code, a principal shall not be
106106 3 prohibited from evaluating any teachers within a school during
107107 4 his or her first year as principal of such school. If a
108108 5 first-year principal exercises this option in a school
109109 6 district where the evaluation plan provides for a teacher in
110110 7 contractual continued service to be evaluated once in the
111111 8 course of every 2 or 3 school years, as applicable, then a new
112112 9 2-year or 3-year evaluation plan must be established.
113113 10 The evaluation plan shall comply with the requirements of
114114 11 this Section and of any rules adopted by the State Board of
115115 12 Education pursuant to this Section.
116116 13 The plan shall include a description of each teacher's
117117 14 duties and responsibilities and of the standards to which that
118118 15 teacher is expected to conform, and shall include at least the
119119 16 following components:
120120 17 (a) personal observation of the teacher in the
121121 18 classroom by the evaluator, unless the teacher has no
122122 19 classroom duties.
123123 20 (b) consideration of the teacher's attendance,
124124 21 planning, instructional methods, classroom management,
125125 22 where relevant, and competency in the subject matter
126126 23 taught.
127127 24 (c) by no later than the applicable implementation
128128 25 date, consideration of student growth as a significant
129129 26 factor in the rating of the teacher's performance.
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140140 1 (d) prior to September 1, 2012, rating of the
141141 2 performance of teachers in contractual continued service
142142 3 as either:
143143 4 (i) "excellent", "satisfactory" or
144144 5 "unsatisfactory"; or
145145 6 (ii) "excellent", "proficient", "needs
146146 7 improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
147147 8 (e) on and after September 1, 2012, rating of the
148148 9 performance of all teachers as "excellent", "proficient",
149149 10 "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
150150 11 (f) specification as to the teacher's strengths and
151151 12 weaknesses, with supporting reasons for the comments made.
152152 13 (g) inclusion of a copy of the evaluation in the
153153 14 teacher's personnel file and provision of a copy to the
154154 15 teacher.
155155 16 (h) within 30 school days after the completion of an
156156 17 evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
157157 18 service as "needs improvement", development by the
158158 19 evaluator, in consultation with the teacher, and taking
159159 20 into account the teacher's on-going professional
160160 21 responsibilities including his or her regular teaching
161161 22 assignments, of a professional development plan directed
162162 23 to the areas that need improvement and any supports that
163163 24 the district will provide to address the areas identified
164164 25 as needing improvement.
165165 26 (i) within 30 school days after completion of an
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176176 1 evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
177177 2 service as "unsatisfactory", development and commencement
178178 3 by the district of a remediation plan designed to correct
179179 4 deficiencies cited, provided the deficiencies are deemed
180180 5 remediable. In all school districts the remediation plan
181181 6 for unsatisfactory, tenured teachers shall provide for 90
182182 7 school days of remediation within the classroom, unless an
183183 8 applicable collective bargaining agreement provides for a
184184 9 shorter duration. In all school districts evaluations
185185 10 issued pursuant to this Section shall be issued within 10
186186 11 days after the conclusion of the respective remediation
187187 12 plan. However, the school board or other governing
188188 13 authority of the district shall not lose jurisdiction to
189189 14 discharge a teacher in the event the evaluation is not
190190 15 issued within 10 days after the conclusion of the
191191 16 respective remediation plan.
192192 17 (j) participation in the remediation plan by the
193193 18 teacher in contractual continued service rated
194194 19 "unsatisfactory", an evaluator and a consulting teacher
195195 20 selected by the evaluator of the teacher who was rated
196196 21 "unsatisfactory", which consulting teacher is an
197197 22 educational employee as defined in the Educational Labor
198198 23 Relations Act, has at least 5 years' teaching experience,
199199 24 and a reasonable familiarity with the assignment of the
200200 25 teacher being evaluated, and who received an "excellent"
201201 26 rating on his or her most recent evaluation. Where no
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212212 1 teachers who meet these criteria are available within the
213213 2 district, the district shall request and the applicable
214214 3 regional office of education shall supply, to participate
215215 4 in the remediation process, an individual who meets these
216216 5 criteria.
217217 6 In a district having a population of less than 500,000
218218 7 with an exclusive bargaining agent, the bargaining agent
219219 8 may, if it so chooses, supply a roster of qualified
220220 9 teachers from whom the consulting teacher is to be
221221 10 selected. That roster shall, however, contain the names of
222222 11 at least 5 teachers, each of whom meets the criteria for
223223 12 consulting teacher with regard to the teacher being
224224 13 evaluated, or the names of all teachers so qualified if
225225 14 that number is less than 5. In the event of a dispute as to
226226 15 qualification, the State Board shall determine
227227 16 qualification.
228228 17 (k) a mid-point and final evaluation by an evaluator
229229 18 during and at the end of the remediation period,
230230 19 immediately following receipt of a remediation plan
231231 20 provided for under subsections (i) and (j) of this
232232 21 Section. Each evaluation shall assess the teacher's
233233 22 performance during the time period since the prior
234234 23 evaluation; provided that the last evaluation shall also
235235 24 include an overall evaluation of the teacher's performance
236236 25 during the remediation period. A written copy of the
237237 26 evaluations and ratings, in which any deficiencies in
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248248 1 performance and recommendations for correction are
249249 2 identified, shall be provided to and discussed with the
250250 3 teacher within 10 school days after the date of the
251251 4 evaluation, unless an applicable collective bargaining
252252 5 agreement provides to the contrary. These subsequent
253253 6 evaluations shall be conducted by an evaluator. The
254254 7 consulting teacher shall provide advice to the teacher
255255 8 rated "unsatisfactory" on how to improve teaching skills
256256 9 and to successfully complete the remediation plan. The
257257 10 consulting teacher shall participate in developing the
258258 11 remediation plan, but the final decision as to the
259259 12 evaluation shall be done solely by the evaluator, unless
260260 13 an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides to
261261 14 the contrary. Evaluations at the conclusion of the
262262 15 remediation process shall be separate and distinct from
263263 16 the required annual evaluations of teachers and shall not
264264 17 be subject to the guidelines and procedures relating to
265265 18 those annual evaluations. The evaluator may but is not
266266 19 required to use the forms provided for the annual
267267 20 evaluation of teachers in the district's evaluation plan.
268268 21 (l) reinstatement to the evaluation schedule set forth
269269 22 in the district's evaluation plan for any teacher in
270270 23 contractual continued service who achieves a rating equal
271271 24 to or better than "satisfactory" or "proficient" in the
272272 25 school year following a rating of "needs improvement" or
273273 26 "unsatisfactory".
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284284 1 (m) dismissal in accordance with subsection (d) of
285285 2 Section 24-12 or Section 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code of
286286 3 any teacher who fails to complete any applicable
287287 4 remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a
288288 5 "satisfactory" or "proficient" rating. Districts and
289289 6 teachers subject to dismissal hearings are precluded from
290290 7 compelling the testimony of consulting teachers at such
291291 8 hearings under subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section
292292 9 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code, either as to the rating
293293 10 process or for opinions of performances by teachers under
294294 11 remediation.
295295 12 (n) After the implementation date of an evaluation
296296 13 system for teachers in a district as specified in Section
297297 14 24A-2.5 of this Code, if a teacher in contractual
298298 15 continued service successfully completes a remediation
299299 16 plan following a rating of "unsatisfactory" in an overall
300300 17 performance evaluation received after the foregoing
301301 18 implementation date and receives a subsequent rating of
302302 19 "unsatisfactory" in any of the teacher's overall
303303 20 performance evaluation ratings received during the
304304 21 36-month period following the teacher's completion of the
305305 22 remediation plan, then the school district may forego
306306 23 remediation and seek dismissal in accordance with
307307 24 subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 34-85 of this
308308 25 Code.
309309 26 Nothing in this Section or Section 24A-4 shall be
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320320 1 construed as preventing immediate dismissal of a teacher for
321321 2 deficiencies which are deemed irremediable or for actions
322322 3 which are injurious to or endanger the health or person of
323323 4 students in the classroom or school, or preventing the
324324 5 dismissal or non-renewal of teachers not in contractual
325325 6 continued service for any reason not prohibited by applicable
326326 7 employment, labor, and civil rights laws. Failure to strictly
327327 8 comply with the time requirements contained in Section 24A-5
328328 9 shall not invalidate the results of the remediation plan.
329329 10 Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th
330330 11 General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or
331331 12 nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective
332332 13 date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in
333333 14 Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act
334334 15 97-8.
335335 16 If the Governor has declared a disaster due to a public
336336 17 health emergency pursuant to Section 7 of the Illinois
337337 18 Emergency Management Agency Act that suspends in-person
338338 19 instruction, the timelines in this Section connected to the
339339 20 commencement and completion of any remediation plan are
340340 21 waived. Except if the parties mutually agree otherwise and the
341341 22 agreement is in writing, any remediation plan that had been in
342342 23 place for more than 45 days prior to the suspension of
343343 24 in-person instruction shall resume when in-person instruction
344344 25 resumes and any remediation plan that had been in place for
345345 26 fewer than 45 days prior to the suspension of in-person
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356356 1 instruction shall be discontinued and a new remediation period
357357 2 shall begin when in-person instruction resumes. The
358358 3 requirements of this paragraph apply regardless of whether
359359 4 they are included in a school district's teacher evaluation
360360 5 plan.
361361 6 School districts may not tie teacher performance
362362 7 evaluations to a entire school's standardized testing
363363 8 performance or to a curriculum area in which the teacher is not
364364 9 certified.
365365 10 (Source: P.A. 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-252, eff. 1-1-22;
366366 11 102-729, eff. 5-6-22.)
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