Wednesday, June 09, 2021

STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES AND CUOMO SIGNS BILL TO WAIVE TEACHER EVALUATION FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

The State Legislature has passed a bill to waive teacher evaluation for this school year (a little late don't you think?). We have updated information this morning that Governor Cuomo has signed it. 

This came from NY BAT's June 7 on Twitter. 


NY BATs

@NYBATs

Jun 7

PANDEMIC EVALUATIONS? Bill passed by NYS Assembly + Senate to waive controversial APPR teacher evaluation system for this school year has just been delivered to  @NYGovCuomo to sign or veto within 10 days https://nysenate.gov//legislation/bills/2021/S5576

NY BATs

@NYBATs

Jun 7

Had this bill been signed into law in April it could have saved principals across the state the time/difficulty of conducting remote observations for which there are no standards or guidance.


The bill's language that I think you mostly want to see:

§ 3. Section 3012-d of the education law is amended by  adding  a  new subdivision 17 to read as follows:

 17.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, FOR THE TWO THOUSAND TWENTY--TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE SCHOOL YEAR, NO SCHOOL DISTRICT OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL  COMPLETE  AN  ANNUAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATION REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR ANY CLASSROOM TEACHER OR BUILDING PRINCIPAL AND STATE FUNDING SHALL NOT BE WITHHELD FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR NOT COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION.

62 comments:

  1. With the wrong leadership, the Union is a shipwreck. Accept the loss and and don't try to search for buried treasure. You might drown. Align your moral compass with reality.

    Mulgrew discusses teacher evaluation law with De Blasio.

    https://tenor.com/view/tweedle-dee-an-tweedle-dumb-alice-in-wonderland-gif-11765201

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  2. Yes, Gov. Cuomo signed it:

    www.nysenate.gov//legislation/bills/2021/S5576

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  3. Come on Cuomo, stick it DeBozo!!!!!!
    Would be a perfect F/U.

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  4. We do have confirmation. Go to the bill.. It says he signed yesterday. They started the process on March.... Took this long to go thru.


    https://www.nysenate.gov//legislation/bills/2021/S5576

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  5. For once I actually WANT my observation in my file. I filmed an outstanding lesson that my principal has not evaluated yet. Now that observations will be waived, this awesome observation will not count. We should have the OPTION of having it in our file. Oh yeah, how I am supposed to know if I am teaching well if my observation does not get written up?

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  6. https://www.nysenate.gov//legislation/bills/2021/S5576


    Signed!

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  7. Great. And the point of being wrung through the crap of being observed was for...???

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  8. Ahh it’s nice to have only a couple of years left!

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  9. So can someone clear this up? Is there no APPR rating this year? Thank you - People need to know, just want to be clear.

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    Replies
    1. Cuomo waived it yesterday. Will need to wait for doe to make an announcement.

      Delete
  10. No standards? No guidance? The UFT agreed with the DOE to use the same Danielson standards used when teaching in person, even though there are remote Danielson Guidelines!! I believe the guidance went like this. Hey principals! Go use Danielson to trim your budgets!!! What a joke. I feel like this has been glazed over. Our lovely UFT AGREED to rate remote teachers with in person Danielson Guidelines! That happened.

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  11. The next waiver Cuomo signs—should be the one where we can finally wave goodbye to him

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  12. "There is opportunity in chaos"

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  13. I think this means you are not getting a rating, but your observation reports will still go in your file. So for the teacher who got the outstanding review, it should still go in your file. Also you can keep a hard copy and put it in your own portfolio.

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  14. hopefully this will hold Dwarka accountable for her actions this year.
    Not only having worst evaluations in Queens high schools but worst evaluations during a covid pandemic!!!!

    Teachers are still having evaluations this week at Bryant HS.

    Why are Superintendent's not SUPERVISING DWARKA!!!!

    DOE EXPLAIN THE DATA=WORST EVALUATIONS YEAR AFTER YEAR!!!!

    HIGHEST STAFF TURNEVER YEAR AFTER YEAR!!!!
    WORST EVALUATIONS DURING COVID!!!!

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  15. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh so there are no Ineffective or Developing teachers this year. Got it.

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  16. Now if they'll finally bring the Health Act to a vote. Something the UFT should get behind buuuut, yeah.

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  17. Allow me to enlighten you.

    Danielson was not designed for high stakes job performance evaluations.
    Danielson was not designed with online instruction in mind.
    The DOE uses it to bully. The organizational culture of the DOE is highly toxic.

    It is as though the Danielson Rubric was accidentally released from a research lab
    for managerial enforcement weapons. IT is not zoonotic in origin.

    It is used in by the DOE as a cudgel to enforce teacher obedience.
    Yes, it is a weapon and by all appearances it is a very successful weapon for the
    repression of independent thought by public school educators.

    You would have a good legal theory against the Danielson rubric abuse if you were to sue the DOE, Their attitude is "go sue us, we have more lawyers up are asses and more time than you will ever have'.

    Good luck if you did not figure this out on your own.

    and yes, here they are again.

    https://tenor.com/view/tweedle-dee-an-tweedle-dumb-alice-in-wonderland-gif-11765201


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  18. James...

    OK, Cuomo signed it, but doesnt debozo et al have to ok it....like our buyout?

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    Replies
    1. Actually, no!

      Look at page 2, lines 16 to 22:

      https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2021/S5576A

      Delete
    2. . NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SECTION, FOR THE TWO
      THOUSAND TWENTY--TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE SCHOOL YEAR, NO SCHOOL DISTRICT
      OR BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES SHALL COMPLETE AN ANNUAL
      PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION FOR ANY CLASS-
      ROOM TEACHER OR BUILDING PRINCIPAL AND STATE FUNDING SHALL NOT BE WITH-
      HELD FROM ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR NOT COMPLETING THE ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL
      PERFORMANCE REVIEW.

      Delete
  19. When will this officially be official?

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  20. Hey, my observation has been up in Advance for 2 months. Just found out beginning of June when I went in to poke around. We are not being informed about ratings or opportunity to clear up/ clarify misconceptions.
    Check Advance everyone!

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  21. Off topic but important question as many might be faced with this in the next 1-3 years with many openings coming up. Would you leave the DOE to accept a position on LI or upstate? You would have a shorter commute and higher pay but no tenure, must start over. Would you leave or stay? What if you were in a good DOE school?

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    Replies
    1. 4:40 There are so many variables, it depends. I wouldn't but only because the commuting would be too inconvenient for me to go to LI or the northern suburbs.

      Delete
  22. Joe here,

    Glad to see, based upon the last threads, not much has changed since I left. No surprise.

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  23. Does this not prohibit fourth year teachers from gaining tenure? With no rating this year or last, they cannot possibly meet the requirements of NY State law which state:

    "A teacher seeking tenure would need to attain an effective or highly effective rating for at least three of the four years."

    https://www.nysut.org/resources/all-listing/2015/august/fact-sheet-15-15-changes-to-tenure-and-the-tenured-teacher-removal-process

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  24. Quinn, Read the new law. Two no ratings and you are still good as I read it as long as one of the first two were effective or highly effective.

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  25. Good. I’m hearing that people were STILL rated poorly this year. Now to fight the next big thing coming down. The pike-mandatory vaccines. Should be a choice until long term effects (5-10 years) have been looked T. We shall see what happens on this one.

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  26. One full year later and we still have not received payment for working Spring Break 2020.

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  27. Was there a mistake in this thread. Does it mean 2020-2021 meaning this school year or 2021-2022 next school year.

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    Replies
    1. The bill was signed into law this week. For this current school year, along with last year, no district is allowed to give teachers/principals a rating.

      Delete
  28. I think the state was worried if they announced this earlier that teachers would just show movies in March etc. This exact thing occurred last year too.

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  29. Dwarka must be saying, "Curses, foiled again."

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  30. Why has no major news source has published an article on this yet? (AT least not in my searches)

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  31. @nerd: good question. Waiting on DeBlasio to sign?

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    Replies
    1. Yes this is my question. Because Google doesn't turn up a lot, so I find this hard to accept without hesitancy

      Delete
  32. Yes, what a pity. At Bryant HS the admin. is left with a rubric at hand and no teachers to hurt. I wonder during those countless hours paid by taxpayer money, they took to detail our developing ratings, observe us and write us up again and again, how many students they could have helped complete their courses if they were actually teaching.

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  33. Yes, it is kind of funny, how they are left holding their rubric unable to hurt teachers.

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  34. Yes, it is kind of funny, how they are left holding their rubric unable to hurt teachers. c

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  35. unfortunately the have hurt many teaches especially the new untenured wondering "what am I doing wrong as a new teacher" with bad evaluation after bad evaluation. With not 1 "highly effective" teacher in almost every department to look up to as a mentor or for guidance.

    Bryant will continue to have the highest teacher turnover and lowest teacher ratings year after year for no good cause.

    Does Bryant really only have 3 highly effective teachers in the whole building?
    What pathetic administrators are doing?
    Are assistant principals even held accountable for that?
    Where is the CSA for making administrators complete forceful evaluations during the last week of school?

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  36. James, DO you know anything about why ATRs weren't allowed to do school surveys this year?

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  37. Has any other ATR been told by administration that they were ineligible to fill out surveys? I thought were we the same as appointed teachers. This is the first year I was unable to fill one out. Does the DOE not want ATRs to fill them out since they know they will give the doe law marks on the doe and chancellor sections?

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  38. I think any teacher who physically reported to work in person this year should have automatically been rated "highly effective" with a "wink, wink" and a "thank you for keeping us open."

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  39. Is this for untenured teachers only ? Or does this mean tenured teachers are exempt as well

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  40. So this is official? Lol, pardon the questioning. Sometimes it's hard to believe things this year🤣🤣

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  41. Is this the confirmation?


    https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/changes-to-new-york-appr-and-tenure-2766623/

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  42. I copied the actual language from an official state government site. What more do you need?

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  43. The one I found discusses non-tenures who I'm sure follow this blog too.

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  44. Don't worry. The doe is waiting until next week after principals and superintendents finish all their observations and reports to them say, ratings are waived for the year per state ed department.... There is no way in hell they wanted to let people do less work this week. Good forbid schools actually use the time to focus on the real work that needs to be done.

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  45. Has correspondence been given to major news outlets? Right now there doesn't seem.to be too much information out there. The union hasn't reached out to teachers. I did read all of the buzz on the internet.

    Also, did I read the wording of the law correctly? Will it be up to individual cities to decide or is this all encompassing?

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  46. Just wondering when DOE will make it official. A colleague told me that it is left up to the cities to decide. Are they misinformed? Can DeBlasio overrule this? Pardon the questions, not well versed in all this

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  47. Correct. Local district decision. Stay tuned.

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    Replies
    1. Lol if it's a local district decision, then I'd say we have ratings this year in the city🤣

      Delete
  48. How do you read it that the ratings are optional?

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  49. When will the DOE be making an official statement? The statement was made by thus time last year.

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  50. Are we sure the bill doesn't focus solely on tenure?

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  51. I printed the actual language of the law on evaluations being waived right in this posting. What else do you need to see?

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  52. Any word yet on when it will be announced by DOE? Because the day this came out people were being observed and stuff entered in advance.

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  53. When is the last day for observarions to be entered into advance that were previously done? Bit off topic.

    ReplyDelete

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