Olympia – By a vote of 16-1, the House Education Committee approved Senate Bill 5895, a bill that would establish a four-tiered statewide model for school teacher and principal evaluations.
The bill is designed to build upon the strengths of each teacher and principal in Washington schools. The bill also ensures that districts will have the tools and resources they will need in order to implement the evaluation system statewide.
It also requires the use of student growth data in evaluations. However, safeguards would be put in place to make sure the data is used objectively, fairly, and consistently across districts.
Additional details regarding SB 5895 and how it compares to the current system can be found here on the House Education Committee website.
Statements from the House Education Leadership Team
“Having a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal in every school is key to student success,” said Rep. Kris Lytton (D-Anacortes). “Quality teaching leads to powerful learning.”
“The pilot schools have done a tremendous job testing the framework established by the legislature,” said Maxwell. “With the data we gathered from the pilot schools, I’m confident we have a model that focuses on collaboration and professional development and will ultimately lead to greater student achievement in the classroom.”
Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle), chair of the House Education committee, said that the legislature will continue to monitor the progress of the TPEP implementation. “We need to be certain that evaluations accurately reflect uniform performance and understand how to account for the diversity within our classrooms and our communities.”
“While we continue to work toward fully-funding our schools,” said Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington) “we need to make sure we are getting the best results for our students. This tool will help us assess that.”