Senate approves compromise bill for teacher ratings

The state Senate gave overwhelming approval to new rules for transferring and laying off public school teachers and principals.

The compromise bill, passed Tuesday by a vote of 46-3, requires that districts rate educators based partly on the performance of their students. It says student growth would be a “substantial factor” in teacher evaluations. Teacher “grades” would include ratings between one and four, not just ‘satisfactory’ and ‘unsatisfactory.’

“Every classroom, every student should have a highly qualified teacher with this rating system,” said Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell.

The Washington Education Association complains that teachers should have been part of the negotiations over the new standards.

Governor Chris Gregoire helped negotiate the compromise legislation. “We’ve developed an approach that builds on the successful pilot we launched two years ago and is showing useful and impactful results in the classroom,” said Gregoire in a statement.

Support for the bill in the state House is bi-partisan but many provisions are still subject to collective bargaining and full changes won’t happen until 2015.