Teacher evaluation initiative positioned for November ballot

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect who submitted signatures for the ballot initiative discussed below, and when the secretary of state's office will determine whether enough have been gathered.

A ballot initiative on teacher evaluation systems is making its way to the Nov. 4 general election ballot as an amendment to the Missouri Constitution. Meanwhile, the president of the Cape Girardeau Community Teachers Association said the measure puts more pressure on an occupation that's already stressful.

The signatures were submitted by Marc Ellinger and Stephanie Bell of the law firm Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch LLC. A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to require teachers to be evaluated by a standards-based performance system, and each system must earn state approval for the local school district to receive state and local funding.

Additionally, teachers will be "dismissed, retained, demoted or promoted" using student performance data as part of the process. Teachers would be required to enter into contracts of three or fewer years with public school districts, with exceptions. The amendment prohibits teachers from organizing or collectively bargaining on the design and implementation of the evaluation system, ballot language says.

A "no" vote would not amend the state constitution.

Nancy Bowles, communications specialist for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said district evaluation systems have to adhere to essential principles, but the state "doesn't have any kind of initial approval process, so there's no effect on funding."

Kate Casas, state policy director of the Children's Education Council of Missouri -- which is running the TeachGreat.org campaign -- said almost 300,000 signatures have been gathered. Retired financial executive Rex Sinquefield is one of TeachGreat's supporters.

Casas said the initiative is not aimed only at teachers, but all certified educators. She said states have started using student academic growth as a component of evaluation. She said supporters are not advocating teachers be graded on whether their students are proficient or advanced or even on grade level. They're asking for evaluations based on academic growth during the time a student is in a teacher's class.

"For us, it's really about how do we create equity across the system to ensure that all students have great teachers and all great teachers are supported in a way that supports great" academic student outcomes, she said.

Mike Wood, Missouri State Teachers Association director of governmental relations, said his organization and others will launch a campaign to oppose the ballot initiative -- from grassroots efforts to direct mail, TV and radio.

Wood said his organization represents 44,000 teachers. MSTA doesn't have a national affiliate, but the National Education Association might weigh in.

"There's a potential to be some national money on the other side, as well. We'll just have to wait and see. We're using our resources from Missouri to fight a Missouri battle," Wood said.

Wood said he thinks once voters across Missouri understand what it means for teachers, students and taxpayers, it will be voted down. He added there are better ways to evaluate teachers and to hold them accountable.

More standardized testing, which will cost more money, is another aspect to the proposal, Wood said.

In their first five years on the job, teachers are on year-to-year contracts. After five years, they are put on "indefinite" contracts. During those first five years, if a teacher is not living up to expectations, they must be notified by April 15.

After five years, the district has to follow a certain procedure for ineffective teachers. Wood said this does not apply to gross misconduct or breaking the law.

Under the new system, Wood said the state would start telling districts the best way to evaluate teachers. "And I think everyone would agree that's eroding local control," Wood said.

Casas said the initiative would give districts more local control. "We are allowing locally elected boards to determine what the complete makeup of the evaluation looks like. They still get to bargain for salary, benefits and working conditions," she said.

School districts are tied to last-in, first-out employment policies, Casas said.

"They will now need to look at [educator] effectiveness before they make those layoff decisions," she said.

McKinley said teachers sometimes have students who can't get into the A-B range no matter what teachers do. Schools educate a vast range of children, from the from well-to-do and middle class to those from low socioeconomic backgrounds who may have issues to deal with other than school.

This week, a California Superior Court judge struck down tenure and other job protections for public school teachers as unconstitutional.

After reading the story, McKinley said it made her nervous. She said the Missouri State Teachers Association and National Education Association are working to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in Missouri.

She noted tenure is meant to protect teachers from school board and administrative changes. When a district has teachers who are not meeting their potential, McKinley said there are steps a district follows to help get them where they should be. If a teacher is tenured or nontenured and isn't reaching expectations, he or she would be let go.

With the proposed legislation and rules, "teachers are starting to go under so much scrutiny, there does need to be some protection for them," McKinley said.

To make it to the ballot, the proposed measure must go through a six-step process. Any petition proposing constitutional changes must be signed by 8 percent of legal voters in any six of the eight congressional districts statewide.

Attorney General Chris Koster approved the ballot language earlier this month. In addition to the attorney general, the petition must go through the secretary of state and state auditor's offices.

The secretary of state's office is working with local election authorities to verify petition signatures.

The office will determine by Aug. 5 if the petition has enough valid signatures to make it to the November ballot, said Kevin Flannery, the Secretary of State's spokesman.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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