Massachusetts Charter Schools

Educator Evaluation Requirements for Charter Schools

Background

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which charter schools are subject to the Educator Evaluation regulations? Horace Mann charters are subject to the educator evaluation regulations, regardless of whether or not their host district participates in Race to the Top (RTTT) activities, as are RTTT Commonwealth charters. Non-RTTT Commonwealth charters are exempt from the educator evaluation regulations. Please see Appendix A for a complete list of schools to which the regulations apply. Please see Question 5 for how reporting requirements apply to charter schools.
2. For charter schools that are subject to the Educator Evaluation regulations, when are they required to begin implementing? In accordance with the implementation timeline, RTTT Commonwealth and RTTT Horace Mann charters were required to begin implementing an educator evaluation system that was aligned to the regulatory framework in the 2012-2013 school year. Horace Mann charters that did not participate in RTTT are required to begin implementation in the 2013-2014 school year. Schools are required to implement with at least 50 percent of their educators in the first year and all educators the second year of implementation.
3. For charter schools that are subject to the Educator Evaluation regulations, which educators does ESE expect to be evaluated? The new regulations apply to all teachers, principals, superintendents, and other staff in positions that require an ESE-issued teacher, specialist, professional support personnel, or administrative license.

   Horace Mann Charters	Race to the Top Commonwealth Charters
   As Horace Mann charters require educators to hold an ESE-issued licensed, the regulations apply in the same way they would to a public school district. The list of ESE licenses can be found at 603 CMR 07.04(3)(a-d). All ESE-issued licenses are listed in 603 CMR 35.07(04)(3).	Although educators at RTTT charters are not required to hold ESE licenses, the expectations are still the same for who should be evaluated: educators that hold positions that correspond to the ESE licenses should be evaluated. Whether an educator actually holds that license is not relevant.

   With regard to reporting ratings in EPIMS, ESE has identified specific job classifications for which rating dating is expected. See Question 5 for more detail.
4. Can charter schools access support from vendors in training their staff on the new educator evaluation framework? Yes. Any charter school can utilize vendors to provide training in educator evaluation. RTTT Commonwealth charters and Horace Mann charters are eligible to receive training at a reduced cost from vendors that are pre-approved by ESE. More information is available on the ESE website at Approved Vendors to Support Implementation of Educator Evaluation.
5. What are the Educator Evaluation reporting requirements for charter schools? The regulations, in 603 CMR 35.11(5), specify that Districts shall provide the Department with individual educator evaluation data for each educator in the district in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner. This requirement is also applicable to charters that are subject to the regulations. At this time, the Department is not collecting this data from non-RTTT Commonwealth charters. NOTE: individual evaluation data submitted to ESE is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under public records law per 603 CMR 35.11(6) and Section 2 of Chapter 131 of the Acts of 2012 (An Act Providing for the Implementation of Education Evaluation Systems in School Districts)

   ESE will be collecting educator evaluation data on an annual basis. For each educator required to be evaluated 5, districts will provide the following seven data elements: Professional Teacher Status Overall Summative Performance Rating Rating on Standard I Rating on Standard II Rating on Standard III Rating on Standard IV Student Impact Rating

   Regulations "Districts shall provide [ESE] with individual educator evaluation data for each educator in the district…including, but not limited to: the educator's performance rating on each standard and overall; the educator… Professional Teacher Status; the educator's impact on student learning, growth, and achievement (high, moderate, low)." 603 CMR 35.11 (5)

   The below table summarizes how charter schools will report each required data point through EPIMS at the end of 2013-14. Individual evaluation data submitted to ESE is confidential and is not subject to disclosure under public records law per 603 CMR 35.11(6) and Section 2 of Chapter 131 of the Acts of 2012 (An Act Providing for the Implementation of Education Evaluation Systems in School Districts).

   Required Data	Non-RTTT Commonwealth Charter Schools	RTTT Commonwealth Charter Schools	Horace Mann Charter Schools
   Professional Teacher Status (SR 28)	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	The Department does not anticipate collecting this data in 2013-14.
   Overall Summative Rating or Formative Evaluation Rating (SR29)	Not Applicable	Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory Not Evaluated Not Applicable	Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory Not Evaluated Not Applicable
   Evaluation Rating on each of the Standards (I-IV) (SR30-SR33)	Not Applicable	Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory Not Evaluated Not Applicable	Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory Not Evaluated Not Applicable
   Student Impact Rating (SR34)	Not Applicable	The Department is not collecting this data in 2013-14.

   Not Evaluated: Educators in EPIMS job classifications listed on page 5 who were not evaluated. Not Applicable: Educators not assigned an EPIMS job classifications listed on page 5.
6. If educators serve in multiple roles or have multiple EPIMS job classifications, do districts submit multiple sets of evaluation data? No. Only one set of ratings can be submitted to EPIMS per educator, including individuals that have more than one role, such as someone that is both a teacher and an instructional coach. See page 30 of Part II: School-Level Planning and Implementation Guide    for more detailed guidance on evaluating educators serving in multiple roles.
7. For which educators does ESE require educator evaluation ratings to be reported in EPIMS? ESE has identified a list of EPIMS job classifications whose descriptions most closely correspond to educator positions that require an ESE-issued license (see list on page 5). These job classifications have been designated as educators for whom rating data is required. If an educator is in one or more of these job classifications, "Not Applicable" will not be accepted as an entry on SR29-SR33. If an educator does not fall under any of the required job classifications, "Not Applicable" is the only possible entry for SR29-SR33. Regardless of job classification, all educators must be reported as Not Applicable (99) on SR34.
   If an educator does not fall under one of these job classifications, does that mean he/she is not required or expected to be evaluated? Not necessarily. The list of EPIMS job classifications is intended to be a close approximation to the educators that should be evaluated per the regulatory requirements but it is not a perfect reflection. For Horace Mann charters, it is possible that there are some educators who were evaluated or are required by the regulations to be evaluated that may have an EPIMS job classification that is not on the required list. These educators must be reported as Not Applicable (99) on SR29-SR34. This does not necessarily mean that the educator should not be evaluated, however. Districts and schools should use their professional judgment and refer to collective bargaining agreements where applicable in determining whether it is appropriate to evaluate educators who fall outside of the required job classifications.
     If EPIMS won't accept Not Applicable (99) on SR29-SR33, does this mean that ESE requires that person to be evaluated? Not necessarily. Again, there may be nuances that are unique to how certain educators are classified in EPIMS. Please contact EducatorEvaluation@doe.mass.edu with clarifying questions.
   Please note that ESE will only accept ratings for educators who fall into the following EPIMS job classifications:

   Administrator Job Classifications
   1200	Superintendent of Schools/Charter School Leader/Collaborative Director
   1201	Assistant/Associate/ Vice Superintendents
   1202	School Business Official
   1205	Other District Wide Administrators
   1210	Supervisor/Director of Guidance
   1211	Supervisor/Director of Pupil Personnel
   1212	Special Education Administrator
   1213	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Arts
   1214	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator of Assessment
   1215	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator of Curriculum
   1216	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: English Language Learner
   1217	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: English
   1218	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Foreign Language
   1219	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: History/Social Studies
   1220	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Library/Media
   1221	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Mathematics
   1222	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Reading
   1223	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator: Science
   1225	Supervisor/Director/Coordinator of Professional Development
   1226	School Nurse Leader (SNL)
   1305	Principal/headmaster/headmistress/head of school
   1310	Deputy/associate/vice-/assistance principal
   1312	School Special Education Administrator
   1320	Other School Administrator/ Coordinator

   
   

   Non-Administrator Job Classifications
   2305	Teacher
   2306	Co-Teacher
   2307	Virtual Course Teacher
   2308	Virtual Course Co-Teacher
   2310	Teacher - support content instruction
   2325	Long Term Substitute Teacher
   2330	Instructional Coach
   3329	Guidance Counselor
   3330	Librarians and Media Center Directors
   3350	School Adjustment Counselor -- Non-Special Education
   3351	School Adjustment Counselor -- Special Education
   3360	School Psychologist -- Non-Special Education
   3361	School Psychologist -- Special Education
   3370	School Social Worker -- Non-Special Education
   3371	School Social Worker -- Special Education
   5020	School Nurse -- Non-Special Education
   5021	School Nurse -- Special Education

Educator Evaluation Requirements for Charter Schools

Appendix A

1 http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/

2 http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr35.html

3 http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr35overview.pdf

4 http://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/101511Overview.pdf

5 See Questions 3 and 7 for more detail on which educators are required to be evaluated per regulations and reported in EPIMS.