103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1351

 

Introduced 2/6/2023, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

 

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 in a teacher evaluation plan, teachers who are due to be evaluated the year they are set to retire shall be offered the opportunity to waive their evaluation and to retain their most recent rating, unless the teacher was last rated as "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory". Provides that the school district may still reserve the right to evaluate a retired teacher provided the district gives notice to the retired teacher at least 14 days before the evaluation and a reason for evaluating the retired teacher. Effective immediately.


LRB103 25980 RJT 52334 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1351LRB103 25980 RJT 52334 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
524A-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/24A-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5)
7    Sec. 24A-5. Content of evaluation plans. This Section
8does not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in
9an agreement entered into between the board of a school
10district operating under Article 34 of this Code and the
11exclusive representative of the district's teachers in
12accordance with Section 34-85c of this Code.
13    Each school district to which this Article applies shall
14establish a teacher evaluation plan which ensures that each
15teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least
16once in the course of every 2 or 3 school years as provided in
17this Section.
18    Each school district shall establish a teacher evaluation
19plan that ensures that:
20        (1) each teacher not in contractual continued service
21    is evaluated at least once every school year; and
22        (2) except as otherwise provided in this Section, each
23    teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at

 

 

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1    least once in the course of every 2 school years. However,
2    any teacher in contractual continued service whose
3    performance is rated as either "needs improvement" or
4    "unsatisfactory" must be evaluated at least once in the
5    school year following the receipt of such rating.
6    No later than September 1, 2022, each school district must
7establish a teacher evaluation plan that ensures that each
8teacher in contractual continued service whose performance is
9rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" is evaluated at
10least once in the course of the 3 school years after receipt of
11the rating and implement an informal teacher observation plan
12established by agency rule and by agreement of the joint
13committee established under subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of
14this Code that ensures that each teacher in contractual
15continued service whose performance is rated as either
16"excellent" or "proficient" is informally observed at least
17once in the course of the 2 school years after receipt of the
18rating.
19    For the 2022-2023 school year only, if the Governor has
20declared a disaster due to a public health emergency pursuant
21to Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act,
22a school district may waive the evaluation requirement of all
23teachers in contractual continued service whose performances
24were rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" during the
25last school year in which the teachers were evaluated under
26this Section.

 

 

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1    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section
2or any other Section of this Code, a principal shall not be
3prohibited from evaluating any teachers within a school during
4his or her first year as principal of such school. If a
5first-year principal exercises this option in a school
6district where the evaluation plan provides for a teacher in
7contractual continued service to be evaluated once in the
8course of every 2 or 3 school years, as applicable, then a new
92-year or 3-year evaluation plan must be established.
10    The evaluation plan shall comply with the requirements of
11this Section and of any rules adopted by the State Board of
12Education pursuant to this Section.
13    The plan shall include a description of each teacher's
14duties and responsibilities and of the standards to which that
15teacher is expected to conform, and shall include at least the
16following components:
17        (a) personal observation of the teacher in the
18    classroom by the evaluator, unless the teacher has no
19    classroom duties.
20        (b) consideration of the teacher's attendance,
21    planning, instructional methods, classroom management,
22    where relevant, and competency in the subject matter
23    taught.
24        (c) by no later than the applicable implementation
25    date, consideration of student growth as a significant
26    factor in the rating of the teacher's performance.

 

 

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1        (d) prior to September 1, 2012, rating of the
2    performance of teachers in contractual continued service
3    as either:
4            (i) "excellent", "satisfactory" or
5        "unsatisfactory"; or
6            (ii) "excellent", "proficient", "needs
7        improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
8        (e) on and after September 1, 2012, rating of the
9    performance of all teachers as "excellent", "proficient",
10    "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
11        (f) specification as to the teacher's strengths and
12    weaknesses, with supporting reasons for the comments made.
13        (g) inclusion of a copy of the evaluation in the
14    teacher's personnel file and provision of a copy to the
15    teacher.
16        (h) within 30 school days after the completion of an
17    evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
18    service as "needs improvement", development by the
19    evaluator, in consultation with the teacher, and taking
20    into account the teacher's on-going professional
21    responsibilities including his or her regular teaching
22    assignments, of a professional development plan directed
23    to the areas that need improvement and any supports that
24    the district will provide to address the areas identified
25    as needing improvement.
26        (i) within 30 school days after completion of an

 

 

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1    evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
2    service as "unsatisfactory", development and commencement
3    by the district of a remediation plan designed to correct
4    deficiencies cited, provided the deficiencies are deemed
5    remediable. In all school districts the remediation plan
6    for unsatisfactory, tenured teachers shall provide for 90
7    school days of remediation within the classroom, unless an
8    applicable collective bargaining agreement provides for a
9    shorter duration. In all school districts evaluations
10    issued pursuant to this Section shall be issued within 10
11    days after the conclusion of the respective remediation
12    plan. However, the school board or other governing
13    authority of the district shall not lose jurisdiction to
14    discharge a teacher in the event the evaluation is not
15    issued within 10 days after the conclusion of the
16    respective remediation plan.
17        (j) participation in the remediation plan by the
18    teacher in contractual continued service rated
19    "unsatisfactory", an evaluator and a consulting teacher
20    selected by the evaluator of the teacher who was rated
21    "unsatisfactory", which consulting teacher is an
22    educational employee as defined in the Educational Labor
23    Relations Act, has at least 5 years' teaching experience,
24    and a reasonable familiarity with the assignment of the
25    teacher being evaluated, and who received an "excellent"
26    rating on his or her most recent evaluation. Where no

 

 

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1    teachers who meet these criteria are available within the
2    district, the district shall request and the applicable
3    regional office of education shall supply, to participate
4    in the remediation process, an individual who meets these
5    criteria.
6        In a district having a population of less than 500,000
7    with an exclusive bargaining agent, the bargaining agent
8    may, if it so chooses, supply a roster of qualified
9    teachers from whom the consulting teacher is to be
10    selected. That roster shall, however, contain the names of
11    at least 5 teachers, each of whom meets the criteria for
12    consulting teacher with regard to the teacher being
13    evaluated, or the names of all teachers so qualified if
14    that number is less than 5. In the event of a dispute as to
15    qualification, the State Board shall determine
16    qualification.
17        (k) a mid-point and final evaluation by an evaluator
18    during and at the end of the remediation period,
19    immediately following receipt of a remediation plan
20    provided for under subsections (i) and (j) of this
21    Section. Each evaluation shall assess the teacher's
22    performance during the time period since the prior
23    evaluation; provided that the last evaluation shall also
24    include an overall evaluation of the teacher's performance
25    during the remediation period. A written copy of the
26    evaluations and ratings, in which any deficiencies in

 

 

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1    performance and recommendations for correction are
2    identified, shall be provided to and discussed with the
3    teacher within 10 school days after the date of the
4    evaluation, unless an applicable collective bargaining
5    agreement provides to the contrary. These subsequent
6    evaluations shall be conducted by an evaluator. The
7    consulting teacher shall provide advice to the teacher
8    rated "unsatisfactory" on how to improve teaching skills
9    and to successfully complete the remediation plan. The
10    consulting teacher shall participate in developing the
11    remediation plan, but the final decision as to the
12    evaluation shall be done solely by the evaluator, unless
13    an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides to
14    the contrary. Evaluations at the conclusion of the
15    remediation process shall be separate and distinct from
16    the required annual evaluations of teachers and shall not
17    be subject to the guidelines and procedures relating to
18    those annual evaluations. The evaluator may but is not
19    required to use the forms provided for the annual
20    evaluation of teachers in the district's evaluation plan.
21        (l) reinstatement to the evaluation schedule set forth
22    in the district's evaluation plan for any teacher in
23    contractual continued service who achieves a rating equal
24    to or better than "satisfactory" or "proficient" in the
25    school year following a rating of "needs improvement" or
26    "unsatisfactory".

 

 

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1        (m) dismissal in accordance with subsection (d) of
2    Section 24-12 or Section 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code of
3    any teacher who fails to complete any applicable
4    remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a
5    "satisfactory" or "proficient" rating. Districts and
6    teachers subject to dismissal hearings are precluded from
7    compelling the testimony of consulting teachers at such
8    hearings under subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section
9    24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code, either as to the rating
10    process or for opinions of performances by teachers under
11    remediation.
12        (n) After the implementation date of an evaluation
13    system for teachers in a district as specified in Section
14    24A-2.5 of this Code, if a teacher in contractual
15    continued service successfully completes a remediation
16    plan following a rating of "unsatisfactory" in an overall
17    performance evaluation received after the foregoing
18    implementation date and receives a subsequent rating of
19    "unsatisfactory" in any of the teacher's overall
20    performance evaluation ratings received during the
21    36-month period following the teacher's completion of the
22    remediation plan, then the school district may forego
23    remediation and seek dismissal in accordance with
24    subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 34-85 of this
25    Code.
26        (o) Teachers who are due to be evaluated the year they

 

 

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1    are set to retire shall be offered the opportunity to
2    waive their evaluation and to retain their most recent
3    rating, unless the teacher was last rated as "needs
4    improvement" or "unsatisfactory". The school district may
5    still reserve the right to evaluate a retired teacher
6    provided the district gives notice to the retired teacher
7    at least 14 days before the evaluation and a reason for
8    evaluating the retired teacher.
9    Nothing in this Section or Section 24A-4 shall be
10construed as preventing immediate dismissal of a teacher for
11deficiencies which are deemed irremediable or for actions
12which are injurious to or endanger the health or person of
13students in the classroom or school, or preventing the
14dismissal or non-renewal of teachers not in contractual
15continued service for any reason not prohibited by applicable
16employment, labor, and civil rights laws. Failure to strictly
17comply with the time requirements contained in Section 24A-5
18shall not invalidate the results of the remediation plan.
19    Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th
20General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or
21nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective
22date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in
23Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act
2497-8.
25    If the Governor has declared a disaster due to a public
26health emergency pursuant to Section 7 of the Illinois

 

 

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1Emergency Management Agency Act that suspends in-person
2instruction, the timelines in this Section connected to the
3commencement and completion of any remediation plan are
4waived. Except if the parties mutually agree otherwise and the
5agreement is in writing, any remediation plan that had been in
6place for more than 45 days prior to the suspension of
7in-person instruction shall resume when in-person instruction
8resumes and any remediation plan that had been in place for
9fewer than 45 days prior to the suspension of in-person
10instruction shall be discontinued and a new remediation period
11shall begin when in-person instruction resumes. The
12requirements of this paragraph apply regardless of whether
13they are included in a school district's teacher evaluation
14plan.
15(Source: P.A. 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-252, eff. 1-1-22;
16102-729, eff. 5-6-22.)
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.