Substitute House Bill 362 Summary

• Authorizes the STEM Committee to grant "STEM school equivalent" designations to community schools and chartered nonpublic schools that meet specified curriculum and partnership requirements, without requiring them to comply with most STEM school regulations.

• Requires community schools and chartered nonpublic schools with STEM school equivalent designations to notify the STEM Committee if they intend to close or discontinue the designation.

• Modifies teacher evaluation requirements to allow districts to evaluate highly-rated teachers (accomplished level) once every three years instead of annually if their student academic growth measures are average or higher, and allows evaluation of skilled-level teachers once every two years under the same conditions.

• Establishes an alternative teacher evaluation framework for the 2014-2015 school year and thereafter that reduces student academic growth from 50% to 42.5% of the evaluation rating, increases teacher performance measure to 42.5%, and adds a 15% component (student surveys, self-evaluations, peer review, or portfolios).

• Adds requirement that community school contracts specify whether the school's governing authority is planning to seek STEM school equivalent designation.