Existing law requires the superintendent of each school district to assign employees employed in positions requiring certification qualifications to positions in which they are to serve, subject to the approval of the governing board of the school district, and authorizes the superintendent of each school district to transfer teachers consistent with the adopted school district policy concerning transfer of teachers from one school to another school within the school district. Existing law requires each school district to evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to pupil academic progress, the instructional techniques and strategies used by the employee, the employees adherence to curricular objectives, and the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment, within the scope of the employees responsibilities.

This bill would prohibit a pupil from knowingly being assigned 2 consecutive years to a certified employee who has the primary responsibility of instructing pupils and has received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the most recent evaluation and assessment of the certificated employees performance unless this prohibition is waived, as specified. prohibit the superintendent of a school district from transferring or assigning a certificated employee with the primary responsibility of being the classroom teacher of record to a schoolsite if the transfer or assignment would result in the reduction of the average effective teacher experience factor at the schoolsite to less than 90% of the average effective teaching experience factor in the school district for schools of the same type, as specified. Notwithstanding that provision, the bill would require the State Board of Education to waive the prohibition upon the request of the governing board of a school district if the governing board of the school district meets certain conditions, including, among others, demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the state board, that the certificated employee subject to transfer or assignment has the appropriate credential necessary to teach a specific course, grade level, or program of study, and there is a critical shortage for certificated employees with such a credential in the local labor market.

To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

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.

Existing law requires the superintendent of each school district to assign employees employed in positions requiring certification qualifications to positions in which they are to serve, subject to the approval of the governing board of the school district. Existing law requires each school district to evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to pupil academic progress, the instructional techniques and strategies used by the employee, the employees adherence to curricular objectives, and the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment, within the scope of the employees responsibilities.

This bill would prohibit a pupil from knowingly being assigned 2 consecutive years to a certified employee who has the primary responsibility of instructing pupils and has received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the most recent evaluation and assessment of the certificated employees performance unless this prohibition is waived, as specified.

To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

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.

Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Patrick O'Donnell, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1484

Author:Weber – As Amended Ver:April 21, 2015

SUBJECT: Teachers: assignment prohibition: unsatisfactory performance

SUMMARY: Creates the effective teacher experience factor (ETEF) and prohibits schools from accepting teacher transfers or new hires that would cause the school to fall below the district average by more than 10%; and, prohibits a student from being assigned to a teacher who has received an unsatisfactory performance evaluation unless that teacher is participating in Peer Assistance Review (PAR) program or is being supported by a teacher with experience that is greater than the district average ETEF, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Prohibits the superintendent of a school district from transferring or assigning a certificated employee with the primary responsibility of being the classroom teacher of record to a schoolsite if the transfer or assignment would result in the reduction of the average ETEF at the schoolsite to less than 90 percent of the average ETEF in the school district for schools of the same type.

2. The applicable ETEF shall be determined by months, subject to the following conditions:

1. The maximum number of months that may be counted for a single certificated employee is 60 months.

2. At the discretion of the governing board of the school district, a certificated instructional employee with the highest rating on a multiple positive-rating level performance scale may be counted for up to 60 months, regardless of his or her length of service in the school district.

3. Months during an evaluation cycle in which a probationary or permanent certificated instructional employee received a final evaluation rating of unsatisfactory shall not be counted.

4. Months during which a certificated employee was assigned primarily noninstructional duties shall not be counted.

3. Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive the transfer or assignment prohibition upon the request of the governing board of a school district if the governing board of the school district does all of the following:

1. Demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the SBE, that the certificated employee subject to transfer or assignment has the appropriate credential necessary to teach a specific course, grade level, or program of study, there is a critical shortage for certificated employees with such a credential in the local labor market, and the placement would enable the schoolsite to achieve its stated goals on behalf of all pupils, including identified subgroups, as identified for that schoolsite in the school district’s local control and accountability plan.

2. Provides written documentation that the exclusive representative of certificated employees has been consulted.

3. Provides written documentation that the principal of the schoolsite has approved of the proposed transfer or assignment, and is aware of the related staff development, mentoring, and evaluation workload the transfer or assignment would necessitate.

4. The prohibition in this measure applies to the exercise of authority by any administrator or other certificated school employee responsible for certificated employee assignment decisions.

4. Specifies a pupil shall not knowingly be assigned to a classroom where the teacher of record received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the most recent evaluation and assessment of the employee’s job performance unless the employee is actively participating in a PAR program or all of the following conditions are met:

1. The teacher of record is receiving the assistance and is being supported with the assistance and guidance of a certificated employee who possesses a valid certification for the same level and type of credential required for the subject matter and grade level being taught.

2. The ETEF of the employee providing assistance and guidance is not less than the average ETEF in the school district for schools of the same type.

3. The employee providing assistance and guidance to the teacher of record has not received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the three most recent evaluation cycles.

4. Any provision may be waived on an individual basis by a vote of the local governing board of the school district if a parent or guardian of a pupil has been notified in writing in the home language of the pupil and the parent or guardian has approved the submission of the waiver request in writing before the proposed assignment.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR) by authorizing school districts and the exclusive representative of the certificated employees to develop and implement the program locally. Specifies that assistance and review shall include multiple observations of a teacher during periods of classroom instruction. Specifies the program shall expect and strongly encourage a cooperative relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal with respect to the process of peer assistance and review. Specifies the school district shall provide sufficient staff development activities to assist a teacher to improve his or her teaching skills and knowledge. Specifies the final evaluation of a teacher's participation in the program shall be made available for placement in the personnel file of the teacher receiving assistance. (Education Code 44505)

2. Establishes the Stull Act, enacted in 1971, which governs certificated employee evaluations and requires school districts to evaluate and assess teacher performance as it reasonability relates to pupil performance on criterion referenced tests, teacher technique and strategies, curricular objectives, and the maintenance of a suitable learning environment. Specifies that in the development and adoption of evaluation guidelines and procedures, the governing board shall avail itself of the advice of the certificated instructional personnel in the district's organization of certificated personnel pursuant to collective bargaining statutes. Specifies that a school district may, by mutual agreement between the exclusive representative of the certificated employees of the school district and the governing board of the school district, include any objective standards from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or any objective standards from the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. Specifies that teacher evaluations shall be made on a continuing basis at least once each school year for probationary personnel; at least every other year for personnel with permanent status; and, at least every five years for personnel with permanent status who have been employed at least 10 years with the school district, are highly qualified, if those personnel occupy positions that are required to be filled by a highly qualified professional, and whose previous evaluation rated the employee as meeting or exceeding standards, if the evaluator and certificated employee being evaluated agree. Specifies that an employee who receives an unsatisfactory rating in the area of teaching methods or instruction may be required to participate in a program designed to improve appropriate areas of the employee's performance; and, requires if a school district participates in the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers (PAR), employees who receive an unsatisfactory rating shall participate in PAR. (Education Code 44660 et. seq.)

3. Specifies that the superintendent of a school district may not transfer a teacher who requests to be transferred to a school offering kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that is ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, on the Academic Performance Index if the principal of the school refuses to accept the transfer; and, specifies the governing board of a school district may not adopt a policy or regulation, or enter into a collective bargaining agreement, that assigns, after April 15 of the school year prior to the school year in which the transfer would become effective, priority to a teacher who requests to be transferred to another school over other qualified applicants who have applied for positions requiring certification qualification at the school. (Education Code 35036)

FISCAL EFFECT: Legislative counsel has keyed this bill as a state mandated local program.

COMMENTS: This bill creates an "effective teacher experience factor" (ETEF) and assigns teachers with point values based on their length of experience with special consideration for teachers with the highest rating on the evaluation system. Each teacher can achieve a maximum of 60 points. Based on the district average ETEF, a school can only accept transfers or newly hired teachers if the school remains within 10% of the district average ETEF. The bill further specifies that students cannot be assigned to a classroom where the teacher received an unsatisfactory performance rating on the most recent evaluation unless the employee is participating in PAR or unless the teacher is receiving support by a certificated employee who has at least the average ETEF for the district.

According to the author, the California Constitution explicitly establishes a state role in public education and guarantees every child a fundamental right to a basic education and equitable opportunity to learn. Education code 35036 prohibits the superintendent of a school district from transferring a teacher who requests to be transferred to a school ranked in an API decile 1-3 if the principal of the school refuses to accept the transfer. However, current law is silent on transfer and assignment of teachers with inexperience, or documented needing improvement or unsatisfactory performance. And, current law is silent on the assignment of individual students within a school to a struggling teacher’s classroom. The state has an obligation to have policies in place to purposefully tackle decades-long achievement gaps between African American, Latino, English Learners, Foster Care and disadvantaged students, and their more advantaged peers. Accordingly, it is imperative that these students are consistently assigned to effective teachers. California public schools cannot increase overall student achievement and guarantee equity in opportunity or make significant progress in closing achievement gaps if all schools and classrooms don’t have effective teachers. If students are assigned to a teacher who has been rated unsatisfactory in their most recent job performance evaluation, there needs to be additional assistance if that teacher remains teacher of record.

Effective Teaching Experience Factor: This bill creates a new effective teaching experience factor (ETEF) to be calculated at the district and school level. The calculation method for determining the ETEF is not clear and it is not clear whether the calculation can be accurately determined at each district or school. The bill specifies that the maximum number of months to be counted for an employee is 60, and it lists instances where time should not be counted toward this total, but the bill does not specify how the points are supposed to be calculated. It is unclear whether a district should count all months of service to the district, all months of service in the state, all months of service since the employee received certification, or whether all months of service in any job should count. Further, what are schools supposed to do if they are already far below this requirement? If they are unable to attract very experienced job applicants, it could make hiring extraordinarily difficult. The bill is broadly written and only specifies that a district may assign the maximum 60 points to any employee who achieves the highest rating on the evaluation, regardless of their length of service. The assignment of points for all other employees is not specified. For these reasons, the committee should consider whether to amend the bill to delete this overly broad ETEF calculation.

PAR & Educational Support: This bill specifies that no student shall knowingly be assigned to a teacher who has received an unsatisfactory performance rating unless the employee is participating in PAR or they are being supported by a teacher with the same certification, whose ETEF experience is greater than the district average. This essentially requires all districts to implement a PAR program or implement a mentor teacher program to support all teachers who receive an unsatisfactory performance evaluation. These types of supports have been successfully implemented at a number of districts across the state. In recent years, however, PAR funding has been cut and many districts have discontinued their PAR programs.

Waivers: This bill specifies that the SBE can waive the transfer requirements specified under the ETEF and authorizes a district governing board to waive the requirement of providing PAR or mentor teachers to employees who receive an unsatisfactory performance evaluation if the parents have been notified in writing and the parents have approved the assignment of their child to that teacher. The committee should consider whether the district should be allowed to waive the requirement to provide a teacher who received an unsatisfactory performance evaluation with a PAR program or a mentor teacher. Existing law requires districts to provide PAR to employees who receive an unsatisfactory performance evaluation, if the district has a PAR program. This bill would authorize districts to waive the requirement to provide PAR to these employees. The committee should consider whether PAR should continue to be required for all employees who receive an unsatisfactory performance evaluation, if the district has a PAR program.

Arguments in Support: EdVoice supports the bill and states, "AB 1484 prohibits a student from knowingly being assigned to a classroom where the teacher of record received an unsatisfactory performance rating in the most recent evaluation and assessment of the employees job performance unless the employee is actively participating in a PAR program or is otherwise being supported with the assistance and guidance of an effective teacher, as specified. The bill would allow a waiver of this provision with advance parental consent….Current law is silent on transfer and assignment of teachers with inexperience, or documented as needing improvement or unsatisfactory performance. And, current law is silent on the assignment of individual students within a school to a struggling teacher's classroom."

Arguments in Opposition: California Teachers Association opposes the bill and states, "The bill prohibits a district transfer or reassignment of a classroom teacher to a school site if the transfer or reassignment would result in the reduction of the average ETEF at the school site to less than 90% of the average effective teaching factor in the school district for schools of the same type. The bill does not bridge transition for the implementation of this new index with guidance for a plan of correction for the LEAs that currently do not meet this requirement. Finally, the bill does not indicate a deadline for when the 90% threshold must be attained by all schools and districts. Without such guidance, how does this mandate impact the development and approval of new LCAPs and the evaluation rubrics over the next few years?"

Committee Amendments: Staff recommends the bill be amended as follows:

1. Delete the "effective teaching experience factor" in the new Education Code Section 35035.5.

2. Delete the "effective teaching experience factor" as it relates to the assignment of students in a classroom in Education Code Section 35037 and instead specify that the support and assistance be provided by a trained educational coach.

3. Delete the authorization for a district to waive the requirement to provide PAR or a trained educational coach.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

CalChamber

EdVoice

Students Matter

StudentsFirst

The Education Trust – West

Opposition

California Federation of Teachers

California Teachers Association

Analysis Prepared by: Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087