Committee hears bills to require annual building-administrator evaluations and limited notice rights
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Summary
Representatives Marty Jacobs and Bridal Bannerman presented bills (HB 2,126 and HB 2,197) that would require annual evaluations of building-level administrators, move certain decision deadlines to March 1, and let administrators employed five consecutive years request written cause if not renewed; the committee received broad support from principals and associations.
Representatives Marty Jacobs and Bridal Bannerman presented two related bills meant to standardize and strengthen building-level administrator evaluations. Jacobs said the bills require annual evaluations and create timelines intended to give administrators and districts clearer notice about renewal or nonrenewal decisions. Bannerman explained differences between the two bills — including whether multiple rating categories are mandatory or set by a governing board and a timing change from February 15 to March 1 — and said the bills allow an administrator who has been continuously employed for five years to request written cause if a contract is not renewed.
"The purpose of the bill is simple: ... make sure there's a review and evaluation of administrators during the academic year or their contract year," Jacobs said. Sponsors emphasized the proposal does not create tenure; rather, it spells out processes for annual observation and evaluation and an opportunity to request reasons for nonrenewal after five consecutive years of employment.
Committee members pressed sponsors on enforcement and scope: who conducts the evaluation, whether assistant principals and athletic directors are covered, how the bills intersect with reduction-in-force decisions, and whether the bills accidentally create tenure-like protections. Sponsors said the bills do not change dismissal law and leave some supervisory detail to district practice, but they acknowledged the committee may want to clarify cause lists and timing to address district concerns.
Multiple witnesses testified in favor, citing fairness and improved professional practice. Stacy Fick of the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals, Devin Johnson (a middle-school principal), Deb Hill Hague (president of the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals), a Missouri NEA representative, and Mike Harris (representing his association) supported the bills as improving process, timelines, and transparency. Perry Goral (chief of governmental relations) clarified that principal and teacher evaluations are not directly scored in MSIP but that DESE provides evaluation models for districts to use.
Committee members and sponsors indicated they would continue to refine definitions of "for cause," timing, and scope in drafting committee substitute language. Representative Steinhoff stated the committee would proceed from a House Committee Substitute for HB 2,126.
