The purpose of this rule development is to adopt a rule to implement the provisions of Section 1013.341, Florida Statutes, relating to qualifications for exemptions to specific provisions for educator evaluation and compensation. The effect is a ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-5.035Qualifications for Exemptions to Specific Provisions for Educator Evaluation and Compensation.

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this rule development is to adopt a rule to implement the provisions of Section 1013.341, Florida Statutes, relating to qualifications for exemptions to specific provisions for educator evaluation and compensation. The effect is a rule to implement the statute as required.

SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Qualifications for exemptions to specific provisions for educator evaluation and compensation.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1013.341(4) FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1013.341 FS.

IF REQUESTED IN WRITING AND NOT DEEMED UNNECESSARY BY THE AGENCY HEAD, A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE NOTICED IN THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE REGISTER.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT IS: Kathy Hebda, Deputy Chancellor, Educator Quality, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399, [phone]

To request a rule development workshop, please contact Lynn Abbott, Agency Clerk, [e-mail] or [phone]

 

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:

 

6A-5.035 Qualifications for exemptions to specific provisions for educator evaluation and compensation

(1) In accordance with Section 1012.341, Florida Statutes, a school district that received an exemption under Florida’s Race to the Top Memorandum of Understanding for Phase 2, as provided in s. (D)(2)(ii) of the Memorandum, is allowed to base forty (40) percent, instead of fifty (50) percent, of instructional personnel and school administrator performance evaluations upon student learning growth under Section 1012.34, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act and is exempt from Section 1012.22(1)(c), Florida Statutes, as amended by the Student Success Act (Senate Bill 736) of 2011. The only district receiving such an exemption in the Memorandum is the School District of Hillsborough County.

(2) To receive an exemption for the 2013-14 school year, the district must meet provisions outlined in the law for implementation of instructional personnel and school administrator evaluation systems that:

(a) Base at least forty (40) percent of an employee’s performance evaluation upon student performance and that student performance is the single greatest component of an employee’s evaluation, and

(b) Implement the Commissioner of Education’s student learning growth formula for statewide assessments as provided under Section 1012.34(7), Florida Statutes.

(3) To receive an exemption for the 2014-15 school year the district must meet the provisions to implement a compensation system and a contract system as follows:

(a) The school district’s instructional personnel and school administrator compensation system awards salary increases based upon sustained student performance.

(b)The school district’s contract system awards instructional personnel and school administrators based upon student performance and removes ineffective employees.

(4) To receive annual exemptions for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years, the district must demonstrate student learning growth based upon performance on statewide assessments under Section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, must have significantly improved compared to student learning growth in the district in 2011-2012 and significantly improved compared to other school districts by one or the following:

(a) Value-added scores for teachers as calculated in accordance with the district’s evaluation system approved under Rule 6A-5.030, F.A.C., have improved by a statistically significant margin,

(b) Value-added scores for teachers of state assessed courses as calculated by the department in accordance with Rule 6A-5.041, F.A.C., have improved by a statistically significant margin, or

(c) The Learning gains for students as calculated for purposes of the state’s school accountability system under Rule 6A-1.099811, F.A.C., have improved by a statistically significant margin.

(4) To be eligible for the exemption as described in subsection (2) of this rule, the district must maintain an evaluation system approved by the Department under Rule 6A-5.030, F.A.C., each year.

(5) To be eligible for the exemption described in subsection (3) of this rule, the district must maintain its qualification for the exemption under subsection (2) of this rule and present to the Department a compensation system and a contract that reflect compliance with this rule no later than December 31 of the year the exemption is granted. If the Department finds that the requirements for this subsection are not met, the State Board will be advised of the district’s status in its first meeting after December 31 of that year and the Board will determine whether the exemption will be granted or withheld.

(6) To be eligible for the exemption described in subsection (4) of this rule, the district must maintain its qualification for the exemption under subsections (2) and (3) of this rule and present to the Department the student performance data for the prior year that reflect compliance with this rule no later than December 31 of the year the exemption is granted. If the Department finds that the requirements for this paragraph are not met, the State Board will be advised of the district’s status in its first meeting after December 31 of that year and the Board will determine whether the exemption will be granted or withheld.

(7) If the State Board determines that the exemption is withheld, the district must adopt an evaluation system and a compensation system that meet the requirements of Sections 1012.34 and 1012.22, Florida Statutes, respectively, for implementation in the following school year.

Rulemaking Authority 1013.341(4) FS. Law Implemented 1013.341 FS. History–New__________.