S.F. No. 1554 Summary

• Amends Minnesota Statutes sections 122A.40 and 122A.41 to establish teacher evaluation requirements including a three-year professional review cycle with peer review and summative evaluations.

• Requires student assessment data to determine 35 percent of teacher evaluation results, and mandates use of longitudinal student engagement and outcome measures aligned with curriculum elements including academic literacy and English learner achievement.

• Prohibits school administrators from placing students in kindergarten through grade 4 with teachers in improvement processes or without summative evaluations if those students were previously in classrooms of teachers who received discipline.

• Prohibits school administrators from placing students in grades 5 through 12 with teachers in improvement processes or without summative evaluations if those students were previously in classrooms of teachers who received discipline, unless no other teacher at the school teaches that subject area and grade.

• Directs the Department of Education to create and publish a state teacher evaluation process in consultation with parents, teacher and administrator organizations, and postsecondary institutions if school boards and teacher representatives cannot reach agreement on local evaluation processes.