State officials announced what they referred to as an “historic” agreement and national model for evaluating teachers — one that resolved a host of sticking points but that still leaves some pivotal issues up for local bargaining.
Gov. Cuomo said the deal, which is being inserted into the state budget today as a 30-day amendment, will ensure that New York receives more than $1 billion in federal funding that was contingent upon an agreement.
He also said the city and United Federation of Teachers have agreed to a new appeals system for teachers who receive poor ratings, which could clear the way for the city to recoup nearly $60 million in funds that were suspended by the state last month.
“I believe this is a better system than any system that had been contemplated or discussed up until now,” Cuomo said of the statewide deal. “This is a more rigorous system, a more effective system.”
State officials said the deal removes much of the ambiguity that was written into a 2010 state law outlining the elements for a teacher evaluation system that for the first time factors in student achievement.
Disagreements between Cuomo and state teachers union over how to implement the system led to a lawsuit that delayed the launch of the program, which was intended to cover many elementary and middle school teachers beginning this past fall.
The new deal keeps the basic components intact, in that student performance will count toward 40 percent of a teacher’s rating and subjective measures — like observations by principals — will count toward 60 percent.
But there are several major changes that appear to be wins for the governor — including that teachers who are rated poorly based on student performance will be rated poorly overall.
Another new element gives the state education commissioner a powerful veto vote over local evaluation plans that are deemed “insufficient.”
However, the deal introduces the ability for districts and unions to hammer out a scoring curve for how teachers are rated — an issue that could well be grounds for a major battle.
The rating categories require teachers to score at least 65 overall in order to avoid being deemed ineffective — but details on how a curve would affect that benchmark were not immediately available.
Finally, student scores on state tests would continue to count for half of the student performance piece, while districts will now be allowed to choose from three specific options for the remainder of the testing component.
However, they must still bargain with local unions on the issue.
City officials, who were conspicuously absent from the announcement in Albany, are set to comment on the deal momentarily.