Title 17. Education

Chapter 39. The Children First Act

Part II. Professional Employee Quality Development

Subpart A. General Provisions

17:3883      State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; powers and duties

A. The board shall:

(1) Establish the components of effective teaching, including measures of effectiveness, which shall be periodically reviewed and revised as necessary.

(2) Develop, adopt, and promulgate, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, all rules necessary for the implementation of this Part.

(3) Set standards to use in determining whether the teacher has successfully met the evaluation qualifications for retaining or acquiring regular teacher certification.

(4) Conduct training and regular staff development in evaluation skills as needed.

(5) Develop and adopt grievance procedure requirements for any teacher or administrator aggrieved by any rating by a local board which results from the implementation of this Part. Such requirements shall contain, at a minimum, provisions for the following:

(a) That the teacher or administrator be provided a copy of the evaluation and the evaluators’ data recording forms and any documentation related thereto and be entitled to respond as provided in R.S. 17:3884.

(b) That the teacher or administrator be assured of due process, including representation, in all aspects of the evaluation grievance procedures.

(c) That the local board shall administer the evaluation in a fair, objective, and consistent manner and shall comply with all rules and regulations adopted by the board and that the failure to do so shall be a grievable matter.

(6)(a) Require the Accountability Commission established by the board to convene an advisory subcommittee of the commission to report on and make recommendations regarding the overall effectiveness of the evaluation program, including but not limited to any recommendations for changes to board policy or state law with respect to the following: the value-added assessment model as determined by the board pursuant to R.S. 17:3902(B)(5), measures of student growth for grades and subjects for which value-added data are not available and for personnel for whom value-added data are not available as established by the board pursuant to R.S. 17:3902(B)(5), and elements of evaluation and standards for effectiveness as defined by the board pursuant to R.S. 17:3902(B)(introductory paragraph). The subcommittee shall have the following members:

(i) One member of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

(ii) One member of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate.

(iii) At least six members who are public school teachers. The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall each appoint three teachers and shall collaborate in making their appointments to ensure that the following requirements are met:

(aa) Two of the teachers shall teach students in grades three, four, or five; two shall teach students in grades six, seven, or eight; and two shall teach students in grades nine, ten, eleven, or twelve.

(bb) All of the teachers shall teach subjects for which value-added data are available.

(cc) One teacher shall be appointed from each congressional district of the state.

(iv) Each member of the Accountability Commission.

(b) The legislature finds that as of March of 2015, several of the advisory subcommittee’s recommendations have been implemented by the board and have improved the evaluation program. In addition to its authority to make such recommendations, the advisory subcommittee may also consider and advise the board regarding whether adjustments to regulations proposed by the department and referred to the subcommittee by the board should be adopted, rejected, or modified.

(c) The members of the subcommittee shall serve without compensation. The initial meeting of the subcommittee shall be held not later than September 30, 2014.

(d) The subcommittee shall submit its initial report and recommendations to the board and the Senate and House committees on education by not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2015 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana and shall submit a subsequent report and further recommendations by not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2016 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.

(7) Submit a written report to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the 2011 and the 2012 regular sessions of the legislature regarding the status of the development of the value-added assessment model as specified in R.S. 17:3902(B)(5) and the methodology used in such development. The committees may meet separately or jointly and may disapprove the assessment model so presented upon majority vote of each committee, if the committees determine that the methodology is arbitrary or not evidence-based.

(8) Beginning in 2013 and thereafter, submit a written report to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education, not later than March first of each year, and at such other times as requested by the committees, regarding the implementation, results, and effectiveness of the value-added assessment model as provided in this Part.

B. The board may:

(1) Make recommendations to the legislature regarding any changes needed to this Part.

(2) Establish state review teams, as needed, to review the school personnel evaluation plans for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations to implement such evaluation plans and to provide for the exchange of information regarding them.

(3) Continue to develop, test, and improve the process and content of professional evaluation with input from appropriate educator groups.

(4) Continue to expand opportunities for the growth and development of professional employees.

(5)(a) Request that the department monitor evaluation programs as necessary. The method to be used in monitoring such programs shall be established by the department with the approval of the board and shall be sufficient to determine the extent to which any programs have been implemented, and whether such programs comply with the provisions of this Part. The department shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education which contains the details of any monitoring methods developed pursuant to this Subparagraph.

(b) If, in conducting such monitoring, the department determines that a school system has failed to implement its evaluation program or has otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of this Part, the department shall notify the local board of such failure, and the school system shall correct such failure within sixty calendar days after receiving such notification. The department also shall notify the board of such failure, by the school system.

(c) If the failure is not corrected within the prescribed sixty calendar days, the department shall notify the board of such continued failure and shall recommend to the board whatever sanctions against such school system the department deems appropriate which may include withholding funds distributed pursuant to the minimum foundation program formula until the corrections are made. The board shall act upon such recommendation within sixty calendar days after its receipt of the notification.

Acts 1994, 3rd Ex.Sess., No. 1, § 2, eff. June 22, 1994; Acts 1997, No. 838, § 2, eff. Aug. 1, 1998; Acts 2000, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 38, § 1, eff. April 14, 2000. Amended by Acts 2010, No. 54, § 1, eff. May 27, 2010; Acts 2014, No. 240, § 1; Acts 2015, No. 70, § 1.