NEW YORK—Teacher performance evaluations will be available to the public thanks to a bill crafted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that passed the state Legislature Thursday amid a flurry of bills. However, the bill only allows parents to, upon request, access the names and performance data of their children’s teachers. Everyone else will just get the performance data and the school’s name.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration and some local media had hoped to get the names of the teachers made public.
While most agree that evaluations should be made available in some form, whether the public as a whole should have access, and whether teacher names should be included, has been much debated.
When top education officials for the nation, state, and city gathered earlier this month at an educational, philanthropic event in Midtown, they were divided about the publication of performance evaluation data.
Dennis Walcott, the city schools chancellor, was in favor of releasing evaluations to the public.
“I feel very strongly about teachers not being denigrated,” Walcott said. “But from a public point of view, it should be public.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the evaluations aim to strengthen the teaching profession and empower parents.
“As a parent, I want information in terms of how my school or my potential school is doing, I don’t necessarily need information about every individual teacher,” Duncan said. “I’m not picking the school based on a teacher, I’m basing it upon a whole set of factors around how that school is doing.”
Meanwhile, state Commissioner of Education John B. King Jr. said New York state law places the majority of the weight on administrators’ observations and “other tools like surveys of parents and students.”
“But the publication [of performance data] in the newspaper has the effect of focusing all the attention on just one portion of the measure,” King added, “which clearly is problematic.”
Evaluation scores released earlier this year in New York City included only reading and math scores.
The new bill requires that the release of data will be by school building, and “by class, subject, and grade,” indicating a score for each class, not just for reading and math.
Reactions
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said in a statement that the passed bill “represents a fair compromise between a parent’s right to know and some level of confidentiality for teachers as we implement this new evaluation system.”
“The governor and Legislature did the right thing by stopping the media from distorting and disseminating evaluation results,” Richard C. Iannuzzi, New York State United Teachers president, said in a release. “This bill accomplishes that goal and preserves the purpose of evaluations, which is to provide opportunity for continued growth and improvement.”
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement that the bill “strikes the right balance between protecting teacher privacy and a parent’s right to know.”
The evaluation system is expected to undergo changes. Race to the Top, a federal program that awarded New York state $700 million, wants a new teacher evaluation system. The state’s teachers’ union and the state of New York reached an agreement in February, but implementation has been slow.
Hundreds of Bills
Lawmakers, at a furious pace, looked at hundreds of bills leading up to the end of the legislative session Thursday evening.
Fracking health impact assessment legislation only passed the Assembly. The purpose of the bill is to have the State University of New York conduct a health assessment of hydrofracking, or extracting natural gas from the earth, “to inform the people of … New York of any and all potential public health impacts.
The Protection of People with Special Needs Act was signed into law. The purpose of bill is to create a justice center for the over 1 million state residents with special needs who would be served by the center and eliminate gaps exposed in a 2011 report. The report details how many special needs persons are at risk of harm due to abuse under the current system.
Lauren’s Law requiring prospective drivers to decide on organ donations passed both houses and is awaiting the governor’s signature. The purpose is to increase organ donors in the state, currently the lowest percentage in the nation (11 percent), by requiring anyone applying for a driver’s license or learner’s permit to check yes or skip this question (no) when asked whether they would like to be added to the “donate life registry.”
Alix’s Law regarding drunk drivers leaving the scene of accident only passed the Senate. After a drunk driver left an accident scene after running over and killing a teenage girl in Western New York, he was acquitted on the felony charge after arguing he wasn’t aware he'd hit anyone. The bill would close this loophole so drivers couldn’t leave an accident scene, even if they’re not aware they were in an accident, “without investigating it themselves and reporting it to law enforcement.”
Legislation combating invasive species passed both houses and is waiting on the governor’s signature. The purposes is to establish statewide databases for all invasive species, incorporating existing data from agencies across the state, nearby states, Canada, and the federal government, while phasing out uses of invasive species and expanding use of native species.
Legislation banning youth from indoor tanning passed both houses and is waiting on the governor’s signature. Youth 16 and under would no longer be able to tan indoors using ultraviolet tanning devices. Indoor tanning is dangerous, based on research, and can contribute to skin cancer.
Other Bills
Prescription drug reform legislation previously passed, established “real time” prescription use so doctors and pharmacists could more closely track pills, in an attempt to prevent drug abuse and overdose.
DNA databank expansion legislation that passed allows police to collect DNA from almost everyone who commits a crime in the state, including anyone convicted of a felony or penal law misdemeanor.
Legislation decriminalizing public possession of marijuana did not pass. The law would have only fined those who publicly possess small amounts of marijuana, or 25 grams or less, a measure supported by advocates of reforming stop and frisk, as well as all five district attorneys and the NYPD commissioner. Senate Republicans want to keep possession of that much pot a misdemeanor.
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