Effective November 2, 2018, Senate Bill 216, referred to as the Ohio Public School Deregulation Act, impacts Ohio public schools in consequential ways, including teacher evaluations, state achievement assessments, and educator licensing and certification. Here is a brief summary of some of these changes:
Changes to OTES:
Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, school districts must utilize the revised OTES framework that the State Board of Education is tasked with developing prior to May 1, 2020. Each school district must update its evaluation policies by July 1, 2020 to conform to the revised framework.
The State Board must make the following changes to the OTES framework:
• Eliminate the requirement that 50% of an evaluation consist of student academic growth;
• Require the use of at least two measures of “high quality student data” to evidence student learning attributable to the teacher being evaluated;
• Prohibit the shared attribution of student performance data among all teachers in a district, building, grade, content area, or other group;
• Prohibit the use of student learning objectives;
• Require development of a professional growth plan or improvement plan for the teacher that is: (a) based on the results of the evaluation, (b) aligned to any school district or building improvement plan required under federal law, and (c) guided by the state professional development standard;
• Permit schools to evaluate accomplished teachers once every three years, so long as the teacher submits a self-directed professional growth plan that focuses on specific areas in the observations and evaluation, and the evaluator determines the teacher is making progress on the plan; and
• Permit schools to evaluate skilled teachers once every two years, so long as the teacher and evaluator jointly develop a professional growth plan that focuses on specific areas in the observations and evaluation, and the evaluator determines the teacher is making progress on the plan.
The Department of Education has been tasked with defining “high quality student data” and providing guidance to school districts on how high-quality student data may be used as evidence of student learning attributable to a particular teacher.
Per SB 216, schools can also no longer use the alternative evaluation framework, in which each teacher evaluation was measured by 50% teacher performance, 35% student academic growth, and 15% of one or any combination of student surveys, teacher self-evaluations, peer review evaluations, and student portfolios.
SB 216 also removes the option for school boards to adopt a resolution requiring only one formal observation of an accomplished teacher if the teacher completes a project demonstrating growth. Therefore, during any year that any teacher is being evaluated, regardless of rating, an evaluator must conduct two formal observations of that teacher. During any year a teacher is not being evaluated due to the teacher's receipt of an "accomplished" or "skilled" rating, it is still the case that the evaluator must conduct at least one observation of, and hold at least one conference with, that teacher. SB 216 specifies that the conference must include a discussion of the teacher's progress on the teacher's professional growth plan.
The final date for school boards to adopt the State Board’s revised OTES framework is July 1, 2020.
Revisions Related to State Assessments:
Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, schools may administer state achievement assessments in English language arts or math in paper format to third grade students. Schools must still administer the assessments online for students on IEPs or Section 504 plans for whom an online assessment is an appropriate accommodation.
Also beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, ODE will request each state assessment vendor provide an annual analysis of how questions on the assessments align with statewide academic content standards. This analysis will be provided to all schools. ODE must also request each vendor provide information and materials to assist schools with assessments, including practice assessments and other preparatory materials.
Reading improvement plans are required beginning with the 2019-2020 school year for school districts in which less than 80% of its students attain proficient scores on the third grade English language arts assessment. The board of education must approve the reading improvement plan prior to implementation. The current requirement that schools that fail to meet a specific level of achievement on reading-related measures, as reported on the past two consecutive state report cards, must submit a reading achievement improvement plan to the Department of Education remains unchanged.
Changes to Educator Licensing and Certification and Continuing Contracts:
SB 216 makes formal changes to how the State Board issues educator licenses. Rather than issuing licenses for “Early Childhood,” “Middle Childhood,” and “Adolescence to Young Adult’”, the State Board must now specify whether the educator is licensed to teach grades pre-K through 5, 4 through 9, or 7 through 12. The grade band provisions, however, do not apply to those: (1) licensed prior to SB 216’s effective date, (2) licensed to teach in certain prescribed subject areas (computer information science, bilingual education, dance, drama or theater, world languages, health, library or media, music, physical education, teaching English to speakers of other languages, career-technical education, and visual arts), (3) licensed as intervention specialists, or (4) with any other license that does not align to the grade band specifications.
SB 216 also prescribes new requirements for any substitute teaching licenses issued on or after July 1, 2019. After that date, all substitute teachers must have a post-secondary degree, yet the amount of time substitutes can provide substitute teaching is based on whether their post-secondary degree is related to the subject they are teaching. If the degree is in education or is directly related to the subject being taught, the substitute may teach for an unlimited number of days. If the degree is not directly related, the substitute may teach for only one semester at a time, subject to approval of the employing school district board.
Newly hired nonteaching school employees in non-civil service school districts must now be employed for seven years to be eligible for a continuing contract. Previously, such employees only had to have an initial (up to ) one-year contract and a single two-year contract to qualified for a continuing contract. Now, they must have an initial limited contract of not more than one year and three subsequent limited contracts of two years each before they may qualify for tenure.
Another important change from SB 216 is the replacement of the term “highly qualified” teachers with “properly certified or licensed.” Beginning July 1, 2019, school districts must employ teachers of core subject areas that are properly certified or licensed. Likewise, paraprofessionals may not be hired to provide support in core subject areas unless they are properly certified. “Core subject area” has been redefined as only reading and English language arts, math, science, social studies, foreign language, and fine arts. A “properly certified or licensed” teacher is one who has successfully completed all requirements for certification or licensure that apply to the subject areas and grade levels in which the teacher provides instruction. Similarly, a “properly certified paraprofessional” is defined as a paraprofessional who holds an educational aide permit and either:
1. Has a designation of “ESEA qualified” on the permit;
2. Has completed two years of coursework at an accredited higher education institution;
3. Holds an associate degree or higher from an accredited higher education institution; or
4. Meets a rigorous standard of quality as demonstrated by attainment of a qualifying score on an academic assessment specified by the Department of Education.
To ensure compliance with these new requirements, schools should contact legal counsel and policy providers with any questions.