GA Code § 20-2-210 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 20 - Education|Chapter 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education|Article 6 - Quality Basic Education|Part 6 - Employment|Subpart 2 - Conditions of Employment|§ 20-2-210. (See Editor's notes.) Annual Performance Evaluation; On-Time Graduation Rate

  All personnel employed by local units of administration, including school superintendents, shall have their performance evaluated annually by appropriately trained evaluators. All such performance evaluation records shall be part of the personnel evaluation file and shall be confidential as provided pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section. In the case of local school superintendents, such evaluations shall be performed by the local board of education. The state board may provide a model annual evaluation instrument for each classification of professional personnel certificated by the Professional Standards Commission. Unless otherwise provided by law, local units of administration are authorized to use the models developed by the State Board of Education.     No later than the 2014-2015 school year, each local school system and all charter schools shall implement an evaluation system as adopted and defined by the State Board of Education for elementary and secondary school teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals. The evaluation system shall be developed by the department in consultation with stakeholders, such as teachers and principals. The evaluation system shall use multiple measures as specified in this subsection. For purposes of the evaluation system established pursuant to this subsection, the state board shall define and designate teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals; provided, however, that growth in student achievement shall not include the test scores of any student who has not been in attendance for a specific course for at least 90 percent of the instructional days for such course.   As used in this subsection, the term "on-time graduation rate" means the graduation rate of the four-year cohort of students that attend a school continuously from October 1 of the calendar year four years prior to the calendar year of the regular date of graduation of that cohort and graduate on or before that regular date of graduation. This graduation rate shall be calculated in addition to, and not as a substitute for, any other graduation rate provided for by federal, state, or local law or regulation.   Teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals shall be evaluated using multiple, rigorous, and transparent measures. Teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals shall be given written notice in advance of the school year of the evaluation measures and any specific indicators that will be used to evaluate them. Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, evaluation measures shall include the following elements:   For teachers of record who teach courses that are subject to annual state assessments aligned with state standards, the evaluation shall be composed of the following:   Student growth, based on student scores on the annual state assessment, shall count for 30 percent of the evaluation;   Professional growth shall count for 20 percent of the evaluation. Professional growth shall be measured by progress toward or attainment of professional growth goals within an academic school year or across academic school years. Professional growth goals may include measurements based on multiple student growth indicators, evaluations and observations, standards of practice, and any additional professional growth measures allowed by the local school system's or charter school's flexibility contract or other agreement with the State Board of Education for local school systems that are not under a flexibility contract; and   Teacher evaluations and observations conducted pursuant to paragraph (5) of this subsection shall count for 50 percent of the evaluation.     For teachers of record who teach courses that are not subject to annual state assessments aligned with state standards, the evaluation shall be composed of the following:   Student growth shall count for 30 percent of the evaluation. Student growth shall include at least one student growth measure and may utilize other student growth indicators, including the school or local school system total score on the annual state assessments, as allowed by the local school system's or charter school's flexibility contract or other agreement with the State Board of Education for local school systems that are not under a flexibility contract for at least one classroom for each teacher of record who teaches courses that are not subject to annual state assessments aligned with state standards. This provision shall not be construed to require the measurement of student growth for every student taking courses that are not subject to annual state assessments aligned with state standards;   Professional growth shall count for 20 percent of the evaluation. Professional growth shall be measured by progress toward or attainment of professional growth goals within an academic school year or across academic school years. Professional growth goals may include measurements based on multiple student growth indicators, evaluations and observations, standards of practice, and any additional professional growth measures allowed by the local school system's or charter school's flexibility contract or other agreement with the State Board of Education for local school systems that are not under a flexibility contract; and   Teacher evaluations and observations conducted pursuant to paragraph (5) of this subsection shall count for 50 percent of the evaluation.     For principals and assistant principals, the evaluation shall be composed of the following:   Student growth, based on the school score on annual state assessments, shall count for 40 percent of the evaluation;   School climate shall count for 10 percent of the evaluation;   A combination of achievement gap closure, Beat the Odds, and College and Career Readiness Performance Index data, as allowed by the flexibility contract or other agreement with the State Board of Education for local school systems that are not under a flexibility contract, shall count for 20 percent of the evaluation; and   The results of evaluations, observations, and standards of practice shall count for 30 percent of the evaluation.       The evaluation system adopted by the State Board of Education shall give every teacher of record, assistant principal, and principal one of four rating levels that are designated as "Exemplary," "Proficient," "Needs Development," or "Ineffective," as further defined by the State Board of Education. A rating of "Ineffective" shall constitute evidence of incompetency as provided by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-940. Each teacher of record, assistant principal, and principal shall be evaluated on his or her own individual merits and neither the State Board of Education, a local school system, nor a charter school shall impose or require any quota system or predetermined distribution of ratings for teachers of record, assistant principals, or principals.   All teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals shall have a pre-evaluation conference, midyear evaluation conference, and a summative evaluation conference, in accordance with state board rules. All teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals shall be notified of and have access to the results of the annual summative performance evaluation and any formative observations conducted throughout the school year pursuant to this subsection within ten working days of such evaluation or observations. A teacher of record, assistant principal, or principal, or an evaluator of any such individuals, may request a conference within ten working days of notice of results of a formative observation and such conference shall be provided within ten working days of the request. Conferences shall include the individual being evaluated, his or her supervisor, and the evaluator, unless otherwise agreed upon. For teachers of record, the annual evaluation shall include multiple classroom observations conducted each year by appropriately trained and credentialed evaluators, using clear, consistent observation rubrics, and supplemented by other measures aligned with student achievement and professional growth. A local school system or charter school may include in its flexibility contract, or other agreement with the State Board of Education for local school systems that are not under a flexibility contract, a provision for a tiered evaluation system, in which reduced observations of certain teachers of record may be conducted. For the evaluation of teachers of record with a minimum of three years' teaching experience and a performance rating of "Proficient" or "Exemplary" pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection in the previous school year, the local school system or charter school, in its discretion, shall require no less than two classroom observations and one summative evaluation for the school year. Each local school system participating in a tiered evaluation system shall apply the resources saved due to the reduced number of evaluations for evaluators to coach and mentor teachers with three years or less of experience and teachers with a performance rating of "Needs Development" or "Ineffective" pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection on a pathway of continuous improvement. Coaching and mentoring support for such teachers may include professional growth plans and remediation plans in evaluation systems if such elements are already required in the evaluation system used to rate the teacher's performance.   In order to ensure proper implementation of the evaluation system developed pursuant to this Code section, the Department of Education shall:   Establish processes and requirements to determine the teacher of record for purposes of assigning student achievement scores to a teacher in evaluating the teacher's performance;   Establish processes for roster verification and student teacher linkages in order to assign the student's achievement scores to the teacher for the purposes of evaluating the teacher's performance;   Establish minimum training and credentialing requirements for evaluators of teachers and principals; and   Provide data systems to support the professional growth of teachers and leaders and facilitate human capital management.     As used in this subsection, the term "flexibility contract" means a charter for a charter system or a charter school or a contract entered into with the State Board of Education for a strategic waivers school system.       Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 20-2-948, local school systems shall base decisions regarding retention, promotion, compensation, dismissals, and other staffing decisions, including transfers, placements, and preferences in the event of reductions in force, primarily on the results of the evaluations developed as required by this subsection. Such evaluation results shall also be used to provide high-quality, job embedded, and ongoing mentoring, support, and professional development for teachers, assistant principals, and principals, as appropriate, aligned to the teacher's, assistant principal's, or principal's needs as identified in his or her evaluation.   A teacher or other certificated professional personnel's salary increase or bonus that is based in whole or in part on an evaluation which included student assessment results, standardized test scores, or standardized test answers that were falsified by such teacher or professional or known or caused by such teacher or professional to have been falsified shall be automatically forfeited. A teacher or other certificated professional personnel shall forfeit his or her right or interest in such salary increase or bonus and shall be liable for the repayment of any and all amounts previously paid to him or her based, in whole or in part, on the results of falsified student assessment results, falsified standardized test scores, or falsified standardized test answers.     The superintendent of each local school system shall identify an appropriately trained evaluator for each person employed by the local unit of administration for the purposes of completing an annual evaluation as required by this Code section. The superintendent of each local school system shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with this Code section.     All records, including surveys and evaluation instruments, associated with individual performance evaluations conducted pursuant to this Code section shall be confidential and not subject to public disclosure. Each local school system and charter school shall report performance data to the Georgia Department of Education in a format approved by the State Board of Education. The department is authorized to release performance data, except to the extent it is personally identifiable to any public school employee.   Any current or former public school employee may execute a release authorizing the release of his or her individual performance data to a third party.   The department may by agreement share individual data with the Office of Student Achievement for the purposes of improving postsecondary educator preparation so long as the office agrees that it will not disclose personally identifiable information about any public school employee.     The State Board of Education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Code section.     (Code 1981, §20-2-210, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 612, § 9; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1546, § 4; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1072, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 438, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 32; Ga. L. 2012, p. 111, § 1/HB 692; Ga. L. 2012, p. 358, § 9/HB 706; Ga. L. 2013, p. 1091, § 2/HB 244; Ga. L. 2016, p. 620, § 1/SB 364; Ga. L. 2020, p. 487, § 1/SB 431; Ga. L. 2021, p. 261, § 3/SB 88.)    The 2016 amendment,  effective July 1, 2016, rewrote subsection (b).    The 2020 amendment,  effective January 1, 2021, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (b)(2) for the former provisions, which read: "Reserved."    The 2021 amendment,  effective July 1, 2021, in paragraph (b)(5), deleted "to provide additional time for evaluators to coach and mentor new teachers and teachers with a performance rating of 'Needs Development' or 'Ineffective' pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection on a pathway of continuous improvement" at the end of the sixth sentence, and added the last two sentences.   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1999, p. 438, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Improved Student Learning Environment and Discipline Act of 1999.'"   Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000.'"   Ga. L. 2013, p. 1091, § 6/HB 244, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2014, and shall be applicable beginning in school year 2014-2015."   For application of this statute in 2020, see Executive Order 03.27.20.02.   A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders.   Law reviews.   - For note on 1999 amendment to this Code section, see 16 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 116 (1999).