Section 3311.80 - Municipal school districts; adoption of standards-based teacher evaluation proceduresNotwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, a municipal school district shall be subject to this section instead of section 3319.111 of the Revised Code.
(A) The board of education of each municipal school district and the teachers' labor organization shall develop and adopt standards-based teacher evaluation procedures that shall either conform with the framework for evaluation of teachers developed under section 3319.112 of the Revised Code or a framework developed or adopted by the district. The evaluation procedures shall include at least one formal observation and classroom walk-through, which may be announced or unannounced; examinations of samples of work, such as lesson plans or assessments designed by a teacher; and multiple measures of student academic growth. The board of education and teachers' labor organization shall endeavor to include in the evaluation procedures the development of a professional growth plan or improvement plan and a final summative conference to discuss the results of the evaluation.(B) When using measures of student academic growth as a component of a teacher's evaluation, those measures shall include the value-added progress dimension prescribed by section 3302.021 of the Revised Code or the alternative student academic progress measure if adopted under division (C)(1)(e) of section 3302.03 of the Revised Code. For teachers of grade levels and subjects for which the value-added progress dimension or alternative student academic achievement measure is not applicable, the board shall administer assessments on the list developed under division (B)(2) of section 3319.112 of the Revised Code.(C)(1) Each teacher employed by the board shall be evaluated at least once each school year, except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section. The composite evaluation shall be completed not later than the first day of June and the teacher shall receive a written report of the results of the composite evaluation not later than ten days after its completion or the last teacher work day of the school year, whichever is earlier.(2) Each teacher who received a rating of accomplished on the teacher's most recent evaluation conducted under this section may be evaluated once every two school years, except that the teacher shall be evaluated in any school year in which the teacher's contract is due to expire. The biennial composite evaluation shall be completed not later than the first day of June of the applicable school year, and the teacher shall receive a written report of the results of the composite evaluation not later than ten days after its completion or the last teacher work day of the school year, whichever is earlier.(D) Each evaluation conducted pursuant to this section shall be conducted by one or more of the following persons who have been trained to conduct evaluations in accordance with criteria that shall be developed jointly by the chief executive officer of the district, or the chief executive officer's designee, and the teachers' labor organization: (1) The chief executive officer or a subordinate officer of the district with responsibility for instruction or academic affairs;(2) A person who is under contract with the board pursuant to section 3319.02 of the Revised Code and holds a license designated for being a principal issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;(3) A person who is under contract with the board pursuant to section 3319.02 of the Revised Code and holds a license designated for being a vocational director or a supervisor in any educational area issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;(4) A person designated to conduct evaluations under an agreement providing for peer assistance and review entered into by the board and the teachers' labor organization.(E) The evaluation procedures shall describe how the evaluation results will be used for decisions regarding compensation, retention, promotion, and reductions in force and for removal of poorly performing teachers.(F) A teacher may challenge any violations of the evaluation procedures in accordance with the grievance procedure specified in any applicable collective bargaining agreement. A challenge under this division is limited to the determination of procedural errors that have resulted in substantive harm to the teacher and to ordering the correction of procedural errors. The failure of the board or a person conducting an evaluation to strictly comply with any deadline or evaluation forms established as part of the evaluation process shall not be cause for an arbitrator to determine that a procedural error occurred, unless the arbitrator finds that the failure resulted in substantive harm to the teacher. The arbitrator shall have no jurisdiction to modify the evaluation results, but the arbitrator may stay any decision taken pursuant to division (E) of this section pending the board's correction of any procedural error. The board shall correct any procedural error within fifteen business days after the arbitrator's determination that a procedural error occurred.(G) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, the requirements of this section prevail over any conflicting provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into on or after October 1, 2012. However, the board and the teachers' labor organization may negotiate additional evaluation procedures, including an evaluation process incorporating peer assistance and review, provided the procedures are consistent with this section.(H) This section does not apply to administrators appointed by the chief executive officer of a municipal school district under section 3311.72 of the Revised Code, administrators subject to evaluation procedures under section 3311.84 or 3319.02 of the Revised Code, or to any teacher employed as a substitute for less than one hundred twenty days during a school year pursuant to section 3319.10 of the Revised Code.Amended by 135th General Assembly,SB 168,§1, eff. 10/24/2024.Amended by 129th General Assembly, HB 555, §1, eff. 3/22/2013.Added by 129th General Assembly, HB 525, §1, eff. 10/1/2012.