Two bills were introduced in the Michigan Senate today and taken up in the Senate Education Committee today to severely restrict the tenure rights of Michigan teachers and remove many of the due process provisions that currently protect them on the one hand, and to create artificial mandates regarding the standards on which they are to be evaluated. SB 1581 is the bill to make modifications in tenure rights of school employees while SB 1582 proposes changes to the school code sections dealing with evaluations. Both bills are sponsored by Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland).

SB 1581 proposes several changes to the Michigan Teacher Tenure Act:

In her/his last year of probation the teacher is not deemed to complete probation unless s/he receives a rating of “effective” from the administration.

The bill removes language that says failure to evaluate the teacher in her/his last year of probation is evidence that s/he is successful and replaces it with language that says failure to evaluate is NOT evidence that s/he is successful.

Regardless of whether a teacher in her/his last year of probation is notified 60 days before the end of the school year that s/he will be terminated, the teacher shall not be employed in the following year unless s/he receive a rating of “effective” under the evaluation system called for in SB 1582 (below).

For teachers WHO ARE ON TENURE the bill provides that they will go back to serve a four year probationary period if they receive “ineffective” ratings under the evaluation system called for in SB 1582 (below). THESE TEACHERS WOULD BE DEEMED TO BE PROBATIONARY FOR ALL PURPOSES UNDER THE TENURE ACT, INCLUDING DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE.

SB 1582 proposes to amend Sec. 1249 of the School Code dealing with evaluations to make several changes:

Add language that each teacher and school administrator be evaluated by a system that “rates the teacher as either effective’ or ‘ineffective’”.

It takes out language that says the evaluation will use multiple rating categories that take into account student growth “as a significant factor” and replace it with a provision, “in a way that ensures that at least 50% of the annual evaluation is based on student growth.”

It proposes that state assessments must be used unless there is no state assessment in which case local assessments may be used to measure student growth.

The bill proposes that the evaluation system appeal process provides for an appeal to either the district superintendent or to the ISD superintendent (or their designee).

It appears that the Senate will try to move these bills this week in order to be ready to push for their passage as part of the final negotiations on the re-appropriation of the Federal EduJobs funding that was partially vetoed by Gov. Granholm last month. The Legislature meets on Wednesday, November 10, this week and then takes a two week recess. They return on Tuesday November 30th and are scheduled to meet Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (11/30, 12/1 & 12/2) for sure. There are TENTATIVE dates scheduled for the following week, 12/7, 12/8 and 12/9 but some leaders have said they want to cancel this last week.

Please call or e-mail your state senator and urge her/him to vote NO on SB 1581 and SB 1582.