BURLINGAME – Dean E. Vogel, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association, issued this statement today about the decision of Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes to pull his AB 5 teacher evaluation legislation late Thursday, which kills the bill for this legislative session:
“California’s educators are disappointed that the Legislature missed a great chance to change the state’s teacher evaluation system in a way that would have improved our profession and student learning. AB 5 by Assemblymember Fuentes was based on sound research about how you build strong learning communities for students with a comprehensive teacher evaluation system. It’s unfortunate that we could not have real conversations about this legislation so all could have understood how the legislation worked. We recognize why Assemblymember Fuentes decided to pull the bill as he could not allow proposed amendments to be voted on without a full public hearing.
“The California Best Practices Teacher Evaluation bill was an opportunity to get beyond the simple test score debate and to develop meaningful teacher assessments based on multiple measures of accountability. Teachers will continue to press for fair reforms like those outlined in this bill. It would have increased the frequency of teacher evaluations and stressed that local educators, parents and administrators know what’s best for local students. It would have provided a much needed common framework for teacher evaluations based on standards of professional practice that acknowledge all the responsibilities of educators that contribute to student achievement and school success.
“Criticism about the bill’s call for continuing the practice of collectively bargaining for teacher evaluations is misguided. You can’t craft a fair and comprehensive teacher evaluation system without including the professionals who are in California’s classrooms every day. Assemblymember Fuentes worked diligently with all stakeholders for two years to create a comprehensive package. We thank him for his leaderships on this effort. CTA will continue to press for the rigorous and fair reforms like those outlined in this bill to transform a teacher evaluation system that is currently superficial and cursory, and so contrary to fostering the collaboration we know is necessary to improve student achievement. ”
To read more about what is essential to a quality and comprehensive teacher evaluation system, see the CTA Teacher Evaluation Framework.
###
The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.