Report Title:

DOE; Teachers; Performance Pay; Salary Increases

Description:

Requires the department of education, in consultation with the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the Hawaii Government Employees Association to report on establishing a comprehensive performance evaluation process to provide for appropriate salary increases outside of collective bargaining agreements.  (SD1)

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2691
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO TEACHERS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that, due to the fact that the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers is an important issue to the department of education, our public school students, and the State as a whole, efforts to address the issue must be carefully examined.  While salary increases for teachers and school administrators is generally an issue for collective bargaining, the department of education must explore alternative methods for providing incentives to public school teachers outside of collective bargaining as well.  However, the legislature further finds that while high-performing teachers should be duly rewarded, under-performing teachers should also be exposed and their status reconsidered to ensure the provision of a quality public school education.  To this end, an annual evaluation system is necessary to ensure that the department of education is able to distinguish and reward quality teachers and also discipline or penalize inferior or poorly performing teachers.

     The purpose of this Act is to require the department of education to conduct a study and report to the legislature on the establishment of an annual evaluation system for public school teachers to allow for pay incentives outside of collective bargaining.

     SECTION 2.  The department of education, in consultation with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and the Hawaii educational policy center, shall conduct a study to examine the necessary criteria and components of a comprehensive annual evaluation process for public school teachers in the State, which shall include the following objectives:

     (1)  Development of annual performance standards and a process for measuring teachers against those standards;

     (2)  Recognition of outstanding performance and the development of methods for providing financial incentives outside of collective bargaining based upon standards established, which may include:

         (A)  Student achievement and classroom results;

         (B)  Performance contracts for teachers;

         (C)  Extracurricular work completed with or for students; and

         (D)  Satisfactory ratings on the department of education's professional evaluation program for teachers;

     (3)  Identification of teachers who are under-performing and may require disciplinary or other adverse employment action;

     (4)  Identification of needed areas of individual professional development and personal growth;

     (5)  Provision of appropriate and timely feedback to individual teachers regarding their performance; and

     (6)  Provision of a written record of performance and development.

The annual evaluation process shall consider the use of self-evaluations and other appropriate methods.

     The department of education shall report to the legislature on its plan and implementation of an annual evaluation system no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2009.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $25,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the purposes of this Act.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.