Committee approves bill lengthening observation cycle for tenured teachers, narrows CSIP mandates

The Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary & Secondary Education & Workforce Development approved House Bill 48 after debate on reducing administrative burdens for schools and teachers.

The bill would change state-level requirements for teacher evaluations and school improvement planning: at the state level, tenured teachers would be required to receive a summative observation once every five years instead of once every three years, and Comprehensive School Improvement Plans (CSIPs) would no longer be required for schools that are not in the bottom 10% of performers (the committee discussed the CSI/TSI designations for the bottom 10%). The committee voted to pass the bill by voice roll call; the chair stated the bill “passes.”

Representative Baker, sponsor of the bill, told the committee that the change is intended to reduce the administrative time principals spend on summative evaluations for experienced teachers: "But this just says, as a state level, we're only gonna require a 10 year teacher to be observed once every 5 years," Baker said, adding that districts…