2015 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 70. Schools
§70-6-101.10. Establishment of written policy of evaluation.

A. Each school district board of education shall maintain and annually review, following consultation with or involvement of representatives selected by local teachers, a written policy of evaluation for all teachers and administrators. In those school districts in which there exists a professional negotiations agreement made in accordance with Section 509.1 et seq. of this title, the procedure for evaluating members of the negotiations unit and any standards of performance and conduct proposed for adoption beyond those established by the State Board of Education shall be negotiable items. Nothing in this section shall be construed to annul, modify or to preclude the renewal or continuing of any existing agreement heretofore entered into between any school district and any organizational representative of its employees. Every policy of evaluation adopted by a board of education shall:

1. Be based upon a set of minimum criteria developed by the State Board of Education, which shall be revised and based upon the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE) developed by the State Board of Education as provided in Section 6-101.16 of this title. The revisions to each policy of evaluation shall be phased in according to the following schedule:

a.for evaluations of teachers and administrators conducted during the 2012-2013 school year, school districts shall for purposes of testing the TLE incorporate on a trial basis the qualitative components of the TLE as provided for in subparagraph b of paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all or a representative sampling of school sites within the district and may at the option of the school district incorporate on a trial basis the quantitative components of the TLE as provided for in subparagraph a of paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all or a representative sampling of school sites within the district,

b.for evaluations of teachers and administrators conducted during the 2013-2014 school year, school districts shall incorporate and put into operation the qualitative components of the TLE as provided for in subparagraph b of paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all school sites within the district. For the 2013-2014 school year the evaluation rating of teachers and administrators shall be based on the qualitative component of the TLE. In addition, for evaluations of teachers and administrators conducted during the 2013-2014 school year, school districts shall for purposes of testing the TLE incorporate on a trial basis the quantitative components of the TLE as provided for in subparagraph a of paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all or a representative sampling of school sites within the district. However, nothing in this subparagraph shall preclude a school district with an average daily attendance of more than thirty-five thousand (35,000) from incorporating at its own expense the quantitative components of the TLE into its evaluation system of teachers and administrators, as defined by the district's written policy, during the 2013-2014 school year,

c.for evaluations of teachers and administrators conducted during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, school districts shall for purposes of establishing baseline data incorporate the quantitative components of the TLE as provided for in subparagraph a of paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all school sites within the district. For the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the evaluation rating of teachers and administrators shall be based on the qualitative component of the TLE. However, nothing in this subparagraph shall preclude a school district with an average daily attendance of more than thirty-five thousand (35,000) from incorporating at its own expense the quantitative components of the TLE into its evaluation system of teachers and administrators, as defined by the district's written policy, during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, and

d.for evaluations of teachers and administrators conducted during the 2016-2017 school year and each school year thereafter, school districts shall fully implement the TLE and incorporate and put into operation both the qualitative and quantitative components of the TLE as provided for in paragraph 4 of subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title into the evaluations used in all school sites within the district. For the 2016-2017 school year and each school year thereafter, teachers and administrators shall receive a qualitative rating based on the qualitative component of the TLE and a quantitative rating based on the quantitative component of the TLE;

2. Be prescribed in writing at the time of adoption and at all times when amendments to the policy are adopted. The original policy and all amendments to the policy shall be promptly made available to all persons subject to the policy;

3. Provide that all evaluations be made in writing and that evaluation documents and responses thereto be maintained in a personnel file for each evaluated person;

4. Provide that every probationary teacher receive formative feedback from the evaluation process at least two times per school year, once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester;

5. Provide that every teacher be evaluated once every year, except for career teachers receiving a qualitative rating of "superior" or "highly effective" and a quantitative rating of "superior" or "highly effective" under the TLE, who may be evaluated once every two (2) years; and

6. Provide that, except for superintendents of independent and elementary school districts and superintendents of area school districts who shall be evaluated by the school district board of education, all certified personnel shall be evaluated by a principal, assistant principal, or other trained certified individual designated by the school district board of education.

B. All individuals designated by the school district board of education to conduct the personnel evaluations shall be required to participate in training conducted by the State Department of Education or training provided by the school district using guidelines and materials developed by the State Department of Education prior to conducting evaluations.

C. The State Department of Education shall develop and conduct workshops pursuant to statewide criteria which train individuals in conducting evaluations.

D. The State Board of Education shall monitor compliance with the provisions of this section by school districts.

E. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Commission, shall study continued implementation of the TLE to produce a system that promotes reflection and professional growth for teachers and leaders.

F. Refusal by a school district to comply with the provisions of this section shall be grounds for withholding State Aid funds until compliance occurs.

G. Data collected pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act or the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

H. Full implementation of the TLE for the purposes of employment shall occur during the 2017-2018 school year.

Added by Laws 1977, c. 262, § 2, emerg. eff. June 17, 1977. Amended by Laws 1985, c. 329, § 16, emerg. eff. July 30, 1985; Laws 1986, c. 259, § 51, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1987, c. 204, § 118, operative July 1, 1987; Laws 1989, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 71, operative July 1, 1990. Renumbered from Title 70, § 6-102.2 by Laws 1989, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 117, operative July 1, 1990. Amended by Laws 1991, c. 3, § 7, eff. July 1, 1991; Laws 1993, c. 239, § 29, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 2010, c. 291, § 5, eff. July 1, 2010; Laws 2013, c. 10, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 373, § 2; Laws 2014, c. 331, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2015, c. 365, § 2, eff. July 1, 2015.