S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5954
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
June 12, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. FLANAGAN, MARCELLINO -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend chapter 56 of the laws of 2015 amending the education
law relating to annual performance reviews of classroom teachers and
building principals, in relation to the public comment period; and to
amend the education law, in relation to annual teacher and principal
evaluations; to amend the education law, in relation to directing the
release of test questions on statewide English language arts and math-
ematics examinations; and making an appropriation therefor; to amend
the education law, in relation to the addition of student character-
istics for consideration of student performance; to amend the educa-
tion law, in relation to establishing a content review committee for
the purpose of reviewing new standardized test items; to amend the
education law, in relation to the board of regents; and to direct the
commissioner of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the
education standards administered by the state education department
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws
of 2015, amending the education law relating to annual performance
reviews of classroom teachers and building principals, is amended to
read as follows:
Section 1. Authority of the commissioner. Notwithstanding any
provisions of section 3012-c of the education law to the contrary, the
commissioner of the state education department, is hereby authorized and
directed to, subject to the provisions of section 207 of the education
law, adopt regulations of the commissioner and guidelines no later than
June 30, 2015 AND SHALL THEREAFTER PUBLISH SUCH REGULATIONS FOR A
COMMENT PERIOD OF FORTY-FIVE DAYS AFTER WHICH SUCH REGULATIONS MAY BE
AMENDED; to implement a statewide annual teacher and principal evalu-
ation system in New York state pursuant to section 3012-d of the educa-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11609-04-5
S. 5954 2
tion law, as added by this act, after consulting with experts and prac-
titioners in the fields of education, economics and psychometrics and
taking into consideration the parameters set forth in the letter from
the Chancellor of the Board of Regents and acting commissioner dated
December 31, 2014, to the New York State Director of State Operations.
The commissioner shall also establish a process to accept public
comments and recommendations regarding the adoption of regulations
pursuant to section 3012-d of the education law and consult in writing
with the Secretary of the United States Department of Education on
weights, measures and ranking of evaluation categories and subcomponents
and shall release the response from the Secretary upon receipt thereof
but in any event prior to publication of the regulations hereunder.
S 2. Subdivision 11 of section 3012-d of the education law, as added
by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015,
is amended and a new subdivision 11-a is added to read as follows:
11. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, no school
district shall be eligible for an apportionment of general support for
public schools from the funds appropriated for the 2015--2016 school
year and any year thereafter in excess of the amount apportioned to such
school district in the respective base year unless such school district
has submitted documentation that has been approved by the commissioner
by [November fifteenth] FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH, two thousand [fifteen]
SIXTEEN, or by September first of each subsequent year, demonstrating
that it has fully implemented the standards and procedures for conduct-
ing annual teacher and principal evaluations of teachers and principals
in accordance with the requirements of this section and the regulations
issued by the commissioner. Provided further that any apportionment
withheld pursuant to this section shall not occur prior to April first
of the current year and shall not have any effect on the base year
calculation for use in the subsequent school year. For purposes of this
section, "base year" shall mean the base year as defined in paragraph b
of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter,
and "current year" shall mean the current year as defined in paragraph a
of subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter.
11-A. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO
PROVIDE A WAIVER FROM FULLY IMPLEMENTING THE STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
FOR CONDUCTING ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS OF TEACHERS AND
PRINCIPALS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION AND THE
REGULATIONS BY THE COMMISSIONER BY FEBRUARY FIFTEENTH, TWO THOUSAND
SIXTEEN, BASED ON HARDSHIP.
S 3. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 51-a to read as follows:
51-A. ON OR BEFORE JUNE FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, AND EACH YEAR
THEREAFTER, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL RELEASE THE TEST QUESTIONS AND CORRE-
SPONDING CORRECT ANSWERS FROM EACH OF THE MOST RECENTLY ADMINISTERED
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS EXAMINATIONS IN GRADES THREE
THROUGH EIGHT OF THAT YEAR. THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RELEASED
SHALL NOT BE SO SIGNIFICANT AS TO HINDER OR IMPAIR THE VALIDITY AND/OR
RELIABILITY OF FUTURE EXAMINATIONS BUT SHALL PROVIDE ENOUGH OF AN OVER-
VIEW OF EACH EXAMINATION SO THAT TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, PRINCIPALS,
PARENTS AND STUDENTS CAN BE PROVIDED WITH SUFFICIENT FEEDBACK ON THE
TYPES OF QUESTIONS ADMINISTERED AND BY JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN,
AND EACH YEAR THEREAFTER, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL RELEASE THE GENERAL
STUDENT SUCCESS RATE IN ANSWERING SUCH QUESTIONS CORRECTLY.
S 4. The sum of eight million four hundred thousand dollars
($8,400,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro-
S. 5954 3
priated to the department of education out of any moneys in the state
treasury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes
account, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for
the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subdivision 51-a of
section 305 of the education law, as added by section three of this act,
and in order to create and print more forms of state standardized
assessments in order to eliminate stand-alone multiple choice field
tests and release a significant amount of test questions. Such moneys
shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers
certified or approved by the commissioner of education in the manner
prescribed by law.
S 5. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 3012-d
of the education law, as added by section 2 of subpart E of part EE of
chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(1) For the first subcomponent, (A) for a teacher whose course ends in
a state-created or administered test for which there is a state-provided
growth model, such teacher shall have a state-provided growth score
based on such model, WHICH SHALL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION CERTAIN STUDENT
CHARACTERISTICS, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, POVERTY, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER
STATUS, PRIOR ACADEMIC HISTORY AND WHICH SHALL IDENTIFY EDUCATORS WHOSE
STUDENT'S GROWTH IS WELL ABOVE OR WELL BELOW AVERAGE COMPARED TO SIMILAR
STUDENTS FOR A TEACHER'S OR PRINCIPAL'S STUDENTS AFTER THE CERTAIN
STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS LISTED ABOVE ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT; and (B) for
a teacher whose course does not end in a state-created or administered
test such teacher shall have a student learning objective (SLO) consist-
ent with a goal-setting process determined or developed by the commis-
sioner, that results in a student growth score; provided that, for any
teacher whose course ends in a state-created or administered assessment
for which there is no state-provided growth model, such assessment must
be used as the underlying assessment for such SLO;
S 6. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding two new
subdivisions 53 and 54 to read as follows:
53. THE COMMISSIONER IS AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED TO ESTABLISH A CONTENT
REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR THE PURPOSES OF REVIEWING ALL STANDARDIZED TEST
ITEMS AND/OR SELECTED PASSAGES USED ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH-
EMATICS STATE ASSESSMENTS FOR GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT TO ENSURE: (A)
THEY ARE GRADE LEVEL APPROPRIATE, IN GENERAL; (B) THEY ARE PRESENTED AT
A READABILITY LEVEL THAT IS GRADE LEVEL APPROPRIATE; (C) THEY ARE WITHIN
GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATION; AND (D) THEY APPROPRIATELY MEASURE THE LEARNING
STANDARDS APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS APPLICABLE TO SUCH SUBJECT
AND/OR GRADE LEVEL. THE REVIEW OF SUCH ITEMS AND PASSAGES SHALL BE
CONDUCTED PRIOR TO THEIR USE IN SUCH ASSESSMENTS PROVIDED HOWEVER, FOR
THE TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN--TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN SCHOOL YEAR ONLY, IF SUCH
REQUIREMENT WOULD PREVENT THE ABILITY OF SUCH ASSESSMENTS TO BE ADMINIS-
TERED, THEN ITEMS OR PASSAGES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN REVIEWED MAY BE USED.
PROVIDED FURTHER, THE CONTENT REVIEW COMMITTEE SHALL REVIEW ANY NEW
STANDARDIZED TEST ITEMS AND/OR SELECTED PASSAGES PRIOR TO THEIR USE IN
STATE ASSESSMENTS. SUCH COMMITTEE SHALL ALSO ENSURE THAT ANY NEW TEST
ITEMS AND/OR SELECTED PASSAGES ARE FAIR AND APPROPRIATELY MEASURE THE
LEARNING STANDARDS APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS APPLICABLE TO SUCH
SUBJECT AND/OR GRADE LEVEL. SUCH COMMITTEE SHALL ALSO ENSURE THAT
ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE TIME IS GIVEN TO STUDENTS FOR THE ADMINIS-
TRATION OF SUCH ASSESSMENTS, PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT SUBDIVISION
FORTY-NINE OF THIS SECTION MUST BE COMPLIED WITH. THE CONTENT REVIEW
COMMITTEE SHALL INCLUDE CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED EDUCATORS IN
S. 5954 4
THE CONTENT AREA AND/OR GRADE LEVEL OF THE ITEMS/PASSAGES BEING
REVIEWED, INCLUDING TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
54. A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW, RULE OR REGULATION TO THE CONTRARY, NO
TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, OR SUPERINTENDENT SHALL BE REQUIRED TO SIGN A CONFI-
DENTIALITY AGREEMENT WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BOARD OF
COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, OR THE DEPARTMENT THAT PREVENTS SUCH
TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, OR SUPERINTENDENT FROM DISCUSSING THE CONTENTS OF
ANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENTS IN GRADES THREE
THROUGH EIGHT.
B. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL AMEND AND/OR MODIFY ANY CURRENT CONFIDEN-
TIALITY AGREEMENT TO REMOVE ANY PROVISIONS THAT PREVENT TEACHERS, PRIN-
CIPALS, OR SUPERINTENDENTS FROM DISCUSSING THE CONTENTS OF ANY ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENTS IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
S 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
the contrary, any previously entered into contract shall be amended to
incorporate the provisions of section six of this act and any required
approval of such contract amendments by a state agency shall be expe-
dited to ensure compliance with section six of this act.
S 8. The commissioner of education shall conduct a comprehensive
review of the education standards administered by the state education
department and seek input from education stakeholders when conducting
such review. The review shall examine aspects of the learning standards
adopted by the board of regents in 2011 including but not limited to:
whether curriculum materials and modules are aligned to standards and
fully available to school districts, age and grade appropriateness of
such standards, and current progress of the implementation of such stan-
dards. The review shall also contain recommendations on how to modify
the standards if deemed necessary and appropriate provided such recom-
mended modifications shall be in accordance with federal requirements.
This review shall be completed on or before June 30, 2016. Upon
completion of the review the board of regents shall consider the find-
ings of the review and vote to accept or reject any recommendations made
by the commissioner within 60 days.
S 9. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
nothing in this act shall prevent or impair the commissioner of educa-
tion from complying with the provisions of section three of this act
prior to its effective date and provided further that, if this act takes
effect after June 1, 2015, the commissioner of education shall have
thirty days from such effective date to comply with the provisions of
section three of this act; and provided further that section six of this
act shall take effect December 1, 2015.