SB 17-067

Senate Bill 17-067, which has been signed into law, changes how teachers and principals in Colorado are evaluated. Previously, at least half of an educator's performance review had to be based on their students' academic progress. Now, while districts can still consider student growth, it can make up no more than 20% of the evaluation. Additionally, educators who have been rated as effective or highly effective for a certain period may be exempt from annual evaluations for up to three years, during which they keep their current rating unless they request a new one. This bill gives schools more flexibility in how they assess teacher and principal performance.

Official Summary

Current law relating to performance evaluations for teachers and principals (educator evaluations) includes a requirement that at least 50% of an evaluation must be determined by the academic growth of the teacher's students or the students in the principal's school. The bill eliminates that requirement but grants school districts the flexibility to continue to use student academic growth, in an amount not to exceed 20%, in educator evaluations. The bill also allows a local board of education or board of cooperative services that adopts its own local licensed personnel evaluation system to exempt teachers or principals who have either an existing effective or highly effective rating from the annual requirements of such system for a period not to exceed 3 years. If a local board of education or board of cooperative services decides to provide such an exemption, the teacher or principal retains the rating he or she received on his or her most recent evaluation for the exemption period. A teacher or principal who has been exempt from evaluations pursuant to this bill may request a new evaluation prior to the end of the exemption period. The rating from such a new evaluation will become the teacher's or principal's new performance evaluation rating. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)