Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 3; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 6; Title 49, Chapter 5, Part 5 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 1.

This bill revises provisions related to education accountability. TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATIONS Generally under present law: (1) All teachers and principals employed by local education agencies (LEAs) undergo annual evaluations pursuant to guidelines and criteria approved by the state board of education. The evaluations are a factor in employment decisions, including promotion, retention, termination, compensation, and the attainment of tenure status; and (2) 50 percent of the annual evaluation criteria is comprised of student achievement data, with 35 percent of such criteria based on student growth data as represented by the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) or some other comparable measure if no TVAAS data is available and 15 percent of such criteria based on other measures of student achievement selected from a list of such measures developed by the teacher evaluation advisory committee and adopted by the board. The remaining 50 percent of the annual evaluation is based on other mandatory criteria, such as prior evaluations, personal conferences, and classroom observations. Under present law, notwithstanding items (2) above, if a teacher's or principal's student growth data reflects attainment of an achievement level of “at expectations,” “above expectations,” or “significantly above expectations,” then the student growth data comprises 50 percent of the teacher's or principal's evaluation, if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher or principal. This bill specifies that this provision applies to a resulting higher "final" evaluation score. This bill defines "final evaluation score" as an individual's level of overall effectiveness score. Similarly, under present law, a teacher's most recent year's student growth data comprises the full 35 percent of the teacher's evaluation, if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher. This bill revises this provision to clarify that such data comprises the full 35 percent "student growth portion" of the teacher's evaluation, and specifies that this provision applies to a higher "final" evaluation score. This bill clarifies the reference to a higher "final" evaluation score in other related provisions. Present law prohibits the state from requiring that teachers in non-tested grades and subjects be evaluated using an alternative growth model for the 2019-2020 school year. This provision does not prohibit an LEA from evaluating teachers in non-tested grades and subjects using an alternative growth model for the 2019-2020 school year. If an LEA chooses to evaluate its teachers in non-tested grades and subjects using an alternative growth model for the 2019-2020 school year, then a teacher's evaluation score using the alternative growth model is only used to evaluate the teacher if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher. This bill extends this provision to include the 2020-2021 school year; clarifies that "data generated from the alternative growth model will not comprise the student growth portion of a teacher's evaluation unless the use results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher"; and requires LEAs that choose to evaluate teachers in non-tested grades and subjects using an alternative growth model for the 2020-2021 school to notify the department of education by March 1, 2021. This bill adds that for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school years, student growth evaluation composites generated by assessments administered in the 2020-2021 school year will be excluded from the student growth measure of a teacher's evaluation, unless including the composites results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher. Under present law, in regard to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers employed in an LEA that receives pre-kindergarten program approval under the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Act, the state is prohibited from requiring such teachers to be evaluated using the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio model approved by the state board of education, or a comparable alternative measure of student growth approved by the state board of education and adopted by the LEA, for the 2019-2020 school year. This bill adds the 2020-2021 school year to this provision. Under present law, if an LEA chooses to evaluate its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers, for the 2019-2020 school year, using the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio model approved by the state board of education, or a comparable alternative measure of student growth approved by the state board of education and adopted by the LEA, then a teacher's evaluation score using the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio model approved by the state board of education, or a comparable alternative measure of student growth, is only used to evaluate the teacher if such use results in a higher evaluation score for the teacher. This bill rewrites this provision to instead provide that if an LEA chooses to evaluate its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers, for the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year, using the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio model approved by the state board of education, or a comparable alternative measure of student growth, then data generated from the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio model, or the comparable alternative measure of student growth, will not comprise the student growth portion of a teacher's evaluation, unless such use results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher. This bill requires LEAs that choose to use the pre-k/kindergarten growth portfolio or comparable alternative measure for the 2020-2021 school year to notify the department by March 1, 2021. TCAP TESTS - SCHOOL GRADING/PERFORMANCE GOALS AND ASSESSMENTS/TENURE This bill: (1) Authorizes each local board of education to choose the percentage, within the range of 0 percent to 25 percent, that scores from the TCAP tests administered to students in grades 3-12 in the 2020-2021 school year count on a student's final grade; (2) Provides that if 80 percent or more of an LEA's or public charter school's students enrolled in grades 3-12 participate in the TCAP tests administered in 2020-2021 school year, then student performance and student growth data generated from the TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year will not be used to assign a letter grade to a school. This bill authorizes the commissioner to grant an LEA or public charter school a waiver from the 80-percent participation requirement. This bill prohibits the department from issuing letter grades or any other summative ratings for schools eligible for the accountability provisions in this item (2) or schools that receive a waiver in the state report card for the 2020-2021 school year; provided, that the department must provide student performance and student growth data to LEAs and as required by federal law; and (3) Provides that if 80 percent or more of an LEA's or public charter school's students enrolled in grades 3-12 participate in the TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year, then student performance and student growth data from TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year will not be used to identify a school as a priority school or to assign a school to the achievement school district. This bill authorizes the commissioner to grant an LEA or public charter school a waiver from the 80-percent participation requirement. This provision will not prohibit the use of student performance and student growth data from TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year from being used to determine priority exit status for schools identified as priority schools. Under present law, one of the requirements for tenure eligibility is that the teacher must have received evaluations demonstrating an overall performance effectiveness level of “above expectations” or “significantly above expectations” during the last two years of the probationary period; however, a teacher who has met all other requirements for tenure eligibility but has not acquired an official evaluation score during the last one or two years of the probationary period due to an approved extended leave; transfer to another school or position within the school district; or invalidated data due to a successful local level evaluation grievance may utilize the most recent two years of available evaluation scores achieved during the probationary period. This bill extends the applicability of this provision to situations where the teacher does not have an official evaluation score during the last one or two years of the probationary period due to unavailable data due to the cancellation of TCAP tests as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.