DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of the Secretary

PROPOSED

PUBLIC NOTICE

Education Impact Analysis Pursuant To 14 Del.C. Section 122(d)

108A Administrator Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised

A. Type of Regulatory Action Required

Amendment to Existing Regulation

B. Synopsis of Subject Matter of the Regulation

The Secretary of Education seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend 14 DE Admin. Code 108A Administrator Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised. This regulation is being amended to align with changes made during the second session of the 148th General Assembly by House Bill 399 as amended by House Amendment 1 and Senate Amendments 1 and 2, and by Senate Bill 199, as well as other process changes identified through implementation. These amendments include: 1) providing for equal weighting of the DPAS II components; 2) eliminating a required annual assessment; and 3) adding language related to new provisional license.

Persons wishing to present their views regarding this matter may do so in writing by the close of business on or before June 7, 2017 to Tina Shockley, Education Associate, Department of Education, Regulatory Review, at 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, Delaware 19901. A copy of this regulation may be viewed online at the Register of Regulation’s website, http://regulations.delaware.gov/services/current_issue.shtml, or obtained at the Department of Education, Finance Office located at the address listed above.

C. Impact Criteria

1. Will the amended regulation help improve student achievement as measured against state achievement standards? The amended regulation is intended to continue to help student achievement as measured against state achievement standards through changes to the administrator evaluation process.

2. Will the amended regulation help ensure that all students receive an equitable education? The amended regulation is intended to continue to ensure all students receive an equitable education.

3. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ health and safety are adequately protected? The amendments do not specifically address students’ health and safety.

4. Will the amended regulation help to ensure that all students’ legal rights are respected? The amended regulation continues to help ensure that all student’s legal rights are respected.

5. Will the amended regulation preserve the necessary authority and flexibility of decision making at the local board and school level? The amended regulation does not substantively change the decision making at the local board and school level.

6. Will the amended regulation place unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements or mandates upon decision makers at the local board and school levels? The amended regulation does not place any unnecessary reporting or administrative requirements on decision makers.

7. Will the decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated be placed in the same entity? The decision making authority and accountability for addressing the subject to be regulated does not change because of the amendment.

8. Will the amended regulation be consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies, in particular to state educational policies addressing achievement in the core academic subjects of mathematics, science, language arts and social studies? The amendment is consistent with and not an impediment to the implementation of other state educational policies.

9. Is there a less burdensome method for addressing the purpose of the regulation? There is not a less burdensome method for addressing the purpose of the regulation.

10. What is the cost to the State and to the local school boards of compliance with the regulation? There is no expected cost to implementing this amended regulation.

108A Administrator Appraisal Process Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II) Revised

1.1 This regulation shall be effective for all school districts and charter schools beginning with the 2015-16 2017-2018 school year, unless another administrator appraisal system has been approved by the Department pursuant to Chapter 12 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.

1.2 For purposes of this regulation, an administrator shall be a professional employee authorized by a board to serve in a supervisory capacity involving the oversight of an instructional program(s).

The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this regulation: In this regulation, the following words and terms shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Annual Appraisal Cycle" means the administrator appraisal process that occurs each year.

"Board" means the local board of education or charter school board of directors.

"Credentialed Evaluator" means the individual, usually not always the supervisor of the administrator, who has successfully completed the foundational DPAS II training and credentialing assessment in accordance with Section 10.0. A superintendent or head of charter school shall be evaluated by members of the Board who shall also have successfully completed the DPAS II foundational training and credentialing assessment in accordance with Section 10.0. The Credentialed Evaluator may also be referred to as "Evaluator".

"DASA" means the Delaware Association of School Administrators.

"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.

"DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators" means the manuals that contains the prescribed forms, detailed procedures, evaluation criteria and other relevant documents that are used to implement the appraisal process. The Department shall create up to four (4) manuals differentiated by administrator role. The DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators may also be referred to collectively as "Guides" or individually as "Guide."

"DSBA" means the Delaware School Boards Association.

"Goal-Setting Conference" means a meeting that occurs between the administrator and the Credentialed Evaluator at the beginning of the Annual Appraisal Cycle, which typically is in the summer or fall. The meeting shall include but not be limited to establishing goals for the year and discussing areas of support, as described in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

"Improvement Plan" means the plan that an administrator and evaluator mutually develop in accordance with Section 8.0.

"Mid-Year Conference" means a meeting that occurs between the administrator and the Credentialed Evaluator as part of the Annual Appraisal Cycle, which typically occurs midway through the school year. The meeting shall include but not be limited to discussion of progress toward goals and areas of support, as described in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

"Satisfactory Evaluation" shall be equivalent to the overall "Highly Effective" or "Effective" rating on the Summative Evaluation.

"Student Achievement" means:

(a) For tested grades and subjects:

(1) Student scores on the state assessment system; and, as appropriate,

(2) Other measures of student learning, such as those described in paragraph (b) of this definition, provided they are rigorous and comparable across classrooms.

(b) For non-tested grades and subjects: alternative measures of student learning and performance such as student scores on pre-tests and end-of-course tests; student performance on English language proficiency assessments; and other measure of student achievement that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms.

Such alternative measures shall be approved by the Department and developed in partnership with the Delaware Association of School Administrators (DASA) and the Delaware School Boards Association (DSBA).

(c) For the 2014-15 school year only, student scores on the Smarter English Language Arts and Smarter Mathematics statewide assessments shall not be incorporated into any administrator’s 2014-15 performance appraisal. This may be extended by the Department for the 2015-2016 school year.

"Student Growth" means the change in Student Achievement data for an individual student between two points in time. Growth may also include other measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms.

"Summative Evaluation" or “Evaluation” means the final evaluation at the conclusion of the Annual Appraisal Cycle.

"Unsatisfactory Evaluation" shall be the equivalent to the overall "Needs Improvement" or "Ineffective" rating on the Summative Evaluation.

"Working Day" means a day when the employee would normally be working in that district or charter school.

All administrators shall receive a yearly appraisal in all five (5) Appraisal Components, including Student Improvement, that includes a minimum of one (1) Goal Setting Conference, one (1) Mid-Year Conference and one (1) Summative Evaluation each year. The Annual Appraisal Cycle shall be led by the administrator's Credentialed Evaluator and may include other supports and opportunities for feedback from his or her Credentialed Evaluator or other Credentialed Evaluators, as outlined in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

4.1 All districts and charter schools shall use the manuals entitled DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators as developed and as may be amended by the Department of Education in collaboration with administrators, which shall include but not be limited to representatives from DSBA and DASA to implement the appraisal system. For any administrator role for which a Guide is not available, Credentialed Evaluators shall use the Appraisal Components in Section 5.0 of this regulation for the purpose of the Annual Appraisal Cycle until such time as a Guide becomes available.

4.1.1 The Guides shall contain at a minimum the following:

4.1.1.1 Specific details about each of the five (5) Appraisal Components pursuant to subsection 5.1, including the Appraisal Criteria within each Component that form the basis for ratings.

4.1.1.2 All forms or documents needed to complete the requirements of the Annual Appraisal Cycle.

4.1.1.3 Specific procedures to implement the Annual Appraisal Cycle, including information on the required Goal-Setting Conference, Mid-Year Conference and Summative Evaluation as well as other recommended supports and opportunities for feedback.

4.1.1.4 Guidance related to evidence collection, including relevant definitions, samples of quality evidence and other resources.

5.1 The following five (5) Appraisal Components, including Appraisal Criteria specified for each in the Guides, shall be the basis upon which the performance of an administrator shall be evaluated by his or her Credentialed Evaluator; Appraisal Criteria for each Appraisal Component, as appropriate, shall be differentiated by administrator role in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

5.1.1 Vision and Goals: Focuses on the administrator's actions to establish, implement, promote and communicate the vision and goals of the school or district, including the use of data to establish goals aligned to the school or district success plan. The goals and strategies contained within the district or school success plan also align to an administrator's individual goals in Component Five.

5.1.2 Teaching and Learning: Focuses on the administrator's actions to implement rigorous curricula, assessments and high-quality instructional practices and to monitor student progress to inform instructional practices.

5.1.3 People, Systems and Operations: Focuses on the administrator's actions to create and implement a strategic plan, manage resources and organize time, ensuring alignment with mandated policies and creating a safe, efficient and effective environment in the school or district that supports student learning. Also focuses on the administrator's actions to attract, support, develop, evaluate and retain educators based upon performance indicators.

5.1.4 Professional Responsibilities: Focuses on the administrator's personal leadership actions, including building trusting relationships, engaging in self-reflection and ongoing learning, problem solving with a constant focus on student learning, constructively managing change and effectively communicating with and engaging families and other stakeholders.

5.1.5 Student Improvement: Students collectively demonstrate appropriate levels of Student Growth as benchmarked against standards to be set by the Secretary based on input from stakeholder groups.

6.1 Each of the first four (4) five (5) Appraisal Components shall be assigned a rating of Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement or Ineffective on the Summative Evaluation. The rating for the Student Improvement Component shall be assigned a rating of Exceeds, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory on the Summative Evaluation. The rating for each of the five (5) Appraisal Components shall reflect the standards as described in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

6.1.1 Ratings for each of the first four (4) Appraisal Components shall be informed by Criteria-level ratings, as described in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators. Each Appraisal Criterion shall be assigned a rating of Highly Effective, Effective, Needs Improvement or Ineffective on the Summative Evaluation. Each Component rating shall be equal to an assigned point value. A “Highly Effective” Component rating shall earn four (4) points, an “Effective” Component rating shall earn three (3) points, a “Needs Improvement” Component rating shall earn two (2) points, and an “Ineffective” Component rating shall earn one (1) point. No partial points shall be awarded.

6.1.2 Once all Component ratings are assigned, a Summative Evaluation rating is determined by the sum of all five (5) Components.

6.2 The Summative Evaluation shall also include one of four overall ratings: "Highly Effective", "Effective", "Needs Improvement" or "Ineffective".

6.2.1 "Highly Effective" means that the administrator has earned an Effective or Highly Effective rating in the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component a sum of 19 or 20 Component rating points.

6.2.2 "Effective" means that the administrator has earned an Effective or Highly Effective rating in at least three (3) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components with zero (0) Ineffective ratings and a Satisfactory or Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component a sum of 14 to 18 Component rating points.

6.2.3 "Needs Improvement" means that: the administrator has earned a sum of 9 to 13 Component rating points.

6.2.3.1 The administrator has earned Effective or Highly Effective ratings in one (1) or two (2) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components with zero (0), one (1) or two (2) Ineffective ratings and a Satisfactory or Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component; or

6.2.3.2 The administrator has earned Effective or Highly Effective ratings in three (3) or four (4) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an Unsatisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component; or

6.2.3.3 The administrator has earned three (3) Effective or Highly Effective and one (1) Ineffective rating on the first four Appraisal Components and a Satisfactory or Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component.

6.2.4 "Ineffective" means that: the administrator has earned a sum of 5 to 8 Component rating points.

6.2.4.1 The administrator has earned Effective or Highly Effective ratings in zero (0), one (1), or two (2) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and an Unsatisfactory rating in the Student Improvement Component; or

6.2.4.2 The administrator has earned Effective or Highly Effective ratings in zero (0) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components and Satisfactory or Exceeds rating in the Student Improvement Component; or

6.2.4.3 The administrator has earned Ineffective ratings in three (3) or four (4) of the first four (4) Appraisal Components.

7.1 A pattern of ineffective administrative performance shall be based on the most recent Summative Evaluation ratings of an administrator using the DPAS II process. Two consecutive ratings of "Ineffective" shall be deemed as a pattern of ineffective administration. The following chart shows the consecutive Summative Evaluation ratings determined to be a pattern of ineffective administrative performance:

8.1 An Improvement Plan shall be developed for an administrator who receives an overall rating of "Needs Improvement" or "Ineffective" on the Summative Evaluation or a rating of Needs Improvement or Ineffective on any Appraisal Component in Section 5.0 on the Summative Evaluation regardless of the overall rating.

8.1.1 An Improvement Plan may also be developed if an administrator's performance during the Annual Appraisal Cycle is unsatisfactory, as outlined in the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators.

8.2 The Improvement Plan shall be developed cooperatively by the administrator and his or her Credentialed Evaluator. If the plan cannot be cooperatively developed, the administrator's Evaluator shall have the authority and responsibility to determine the plan as specified in subsection 8.1 above.

8.3 The administrator shall be held accountable for the implementation and completion of the Improvement Plan.

8.4 Upon completion of the Improvement Plan, the administrator and his or her Credentialed Evaluator shall sign the documentation that determines the satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance of the plan.

9.1 An administrator may challenge any rating on the Summative Evaluation, either an Appraisal Component Rating or the Overall Rating, or an administrator may challenge unsatisfactory performance identified by his or her Credentialed Evaluator during the Annual Appraisal Cycle, pursuant to subsection 8.1.1. To initiate a challenge, an administrator shall submit additional information specific to the point of disagreement in writing within fifteen (15) working days of the date of administrator's receipt of the Summative Evaluation. Such written response shall become part of the appraisal record and shall be attached to the Summative Evaluation. All challenges together with the record shall be forwarded to the supervisor of the evaluator, if any.

9.1.1 Within fifteen (15) working days of receiving the written challenge, the supervisor of the evaluator shall review the record which consists of all documents used in the appraisal and the written challenge, meet with the administrator, and issue a written decision.

9.1.2 If the challenge is denied, the written decision shall state the reasons for denial.

9.1.3 The decision of the supervisor of the evaluator shall be final.

10.1 Credentialing processes and assessments shall be established and conducted by the Department of Education, and developed in collaboration with school and district level administrators.

10.2 Evaluator credentials for the utilization of each of the DPAS II Revised Guides are earned upon successful completion of the credentialing assessment for the appropriate Guide. Evaluator credentials are valid for five years from the date of issue. Evaluators may seek to renew their credentials within 24 months prior to the expiration date. Credentialing assessment(s) for all Guides shall be established and implemented no later than August 1, 2017 2018.

10.2.1 Completion of a foundational DPAS II training for the appropriate Guide(s) shall allow evaluators to conduct administrator evaluations until the credentialing assessment is established and implemented for the applicable DPAS II Revised Guide for Administrators.

10.2.2 Upon the initial implementation of the credentialing assessment, the Department shall establish a time period during which the assessment will be offered at least three (3) times in order to provide multiple opportunities for an individual to earn the credential. Once available, an administrator shall have the opportunity to take the assessment for each applicable Guide three times. Administrators shall earn their credential during one of those opportunities before continuing their work. If administrators do not earn a credential, they will not be permitted to conduct administrator evaluations in the applicable Guide(s), but, in order to earn their credential, shall have the opportunity to take the assessment again during the next time period that such a credentialing assessment is offered.

10.2.3 Thereafter, the Department shall establish a schedule during which each administrator shall have no less than three opportunities to renew a credential, for each applicable Guide, prior to its expiration.

11.1 Training opportunities shall be offered annually and shall include techniques for observation and conferencing and a review of the DPAS II Revised Guides for Administrators. Activities in which participants practice implementation of DPAS II procedures may be included.

11.2 Evaluators shall complete a DPAS II training for the appropriate Guide(s) as developed by the Department of Education upon notice from the Department subsequent to substantive changes to an applicable DPAS-II Revised Guides for Administrators.

The Department of Education shall annually monitor implementation of DPAS II for Administrators.

The Department of Education shall conduct an annual a biennial evaluation of the administrator appraisal process. The evaluation shall, at a minimum, include a survey of administrators and interviews with a sampling of administrators. Data from the evaluation and proposed changes to DPAS II Revised shall be presented to the State Board of Education for review on an annual a biennial basis.