SECTION 210:20-41-1. Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System overview

(a)   Purpose and application. To ensure that each Oklahoma student is provided with effective instruction that contributes to student success, each school district board of education shall maintain and annually review a written policy of evaluation for all teachers and leaders, to be based upon the minimum criteria for the Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (TLE) outlined at 70 O.S. § 6-101.16. For purposes of the TLE, "leader" means a principal, assistant principal, or any other school administrator who is responsible for supervising classroom teachers. "Teacher" means a duly certified person who is employed to serve as a counselor, librarian, or classroom teacher, or in any other instructional capacity.

(b)   Five-tier rating system. Each teacher and leader evaluated under the TLE shall be rated on a five-tier scale. The evaluation framework selected by a school district for teachers shall apply to all teachers of the district in its entirety, and the evaluation framework selected by a school district for administrators shall apply to all administrators of the district in its entirety, with the exception of the district superintendent who is evaluated by the board of education. Regardless of any additional rating terminology used in an evaluation framework implemented by a school district, a teacher's or leader's district evaluation rating shall be expressed as one of the following five ratings:

(1)   Superior;

(2)   Highly Effective;

(3)   Effective;

(4)   Needs Improvement ; or

(5)   Ineffective.

(c)   Periodic observations and annual evaluations. Every teacher and leader shall be evaluated annually, and provided with feedback for the purpose of improving student learning outcomes. Each teacher or leader shall receive a district evaluation rating based on the components of the TLE as set forth in 70 O.S. § 6-101.16(b), and expressed as a rating on the five-tier scale shown in subsection (b). For all district evaluations, student performance, including performance on the statewide criterion-referenced tests if available, shall be discussed with the teacher and may be one of the considerations for the teacher's district evaluation rating.

(1)   Career teachers. A career teacher as defined in 70 O.S. § 6-101.3 shall be observed in their instructional setting once during the first semester of the school year and once during the second semester of the school year. The career teacher shall receive their evaluation during the second semester of the school year. A career teacher who has received "Superior" or "Highly Effective" as their most recent rating under the TLE may be evaluated once every three (3) years, but shall participate every year in developing a professional development goal (known as a "Professional Learning Focus" or "PL Focus").

(2)   Probationary teachers. A probationary teacher as defined in 70 O.S. § 6-101.3 shall be observed in their instructional setting, and provided with formative feedback, at least once during the first semester of the school year and at least once during the second semester of the school year. The probationary teacher shall receive their evaluation during the second semester of the school year.

(d)   Individualized programs of professional development. Every school district board of education shall maintain and annually review a written policy of professional development in addition to, or as a component of, its written policy of evaluation. The policy of professional development adopted by a school district shall provide for the development of a focused and individualized program of professional development for the teacher or administrator that is consistent with the qualitative components of the TLE. Each teacher or administrator's individualized program of professional development shall designate a Professional Learning Focus ("PL Focus") topic. Professional development completed pursuant to an individualized program of professional development shall count toward the total number of points a teacher or administrator is required to complete as established by the school district pursuant to 70 O.S. § 6-194, provided that the implementation of individualized programs of professional development does not increase the professional development points requirements. Every school district policy of professional development shall:

(1)   Establish an annual professional growth goal for the teacher or administrator that is developed by the teacher or administrator in collaboration with the evaluator. Every teacher or administrator with the exception of the district superintendent will participate in establishing an annual professional growth goal (Professional Learning Focus), including career teachers with a "Superior" or "Highly Effective" rating during the years they are not required to be evaluated.

(2)   Be tailored to address a specific area or criteria identified through the qualitative components of the TLE.

(3)   Allow the teacher or administrator to actively engage with learning practices that are evidence-based, researched practices that are correlated with increased student achievement.

(4)   Be supported by resources that are available and supplied by the school district and the State Department of Education.

(e)   Evaluator training. Prior to conducting evaluations, every individual designated by a school district board of education to conduct personnel evaluations shall participate in training that addresses the requirements of Oklahoma's Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System. Training provided to a school district's evaluators through a vendor which addresses the district's adopted framework, but does not specifically address Oklahoma's TLE components, will not satisfy the TLE training requirement.

(f)   Reporting. Every school district must transmit data collected for TLE purposes to the State Department of Education through the current information upload system designated by the agency.

(g)   Confidentiality of records. The State Department of Education shall keep records of annual evaluations received pursuant to TLE confidential. TLE records which in any way identify a current or former public employee shall not be subject to disclosure under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

[Source: Added at 32 Ok Reg 914, eff 8-27-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1090, eff 9-11-17; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1207, eff 9-11-20]