Sec. 30-3.10. Training of evaluators and lead evaluators

(a) The governing body of each district shall ensure that evaluators, including impartial and independent observers and peer observers, have appropriate training before conducting a teacher or principal’s evaluation under this section. The governing body shall also ensure that any lead evaluator has been certified by such governing body as a qualified lead evaluator before conducting and/or completing a teacher's or principal's evaluation in accordance with the requirements of this Subpart, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a lead evaluator who is properly certified by the department as a school administrator or superintendent of schools from conducting classroom observations or school visits as part of an annual professional performance review under this Subpart prior to completion of the training required by this section provided such training is successfully completed prior to completion of the evaluation.

(b) To qualify for certification as a lead evaluator, individuals shall successfully complete a training course that meets the minimum requirements prescribed in this subdivision. The training course shall provide training on:

(1) the New York State teaching standards and their related elements and performance indicators and the leadership standards and their related functions, as applicable;

(2) evidence-based observation techniques that are grounded in research;

(3) application and use of any methodology as part of an SLO and any optional second measures of student performance used by the district to evaluate its teachers or principals;

(4) application and use of the State-approved teacher or principal rubric(s) selected by the district for use in evaluations, including training on the effective application of such rubrics to observe a teacher or principal's practice;

(5) application and use of any assessment tools that the district utilizes to evaluate its classroom teachers or building principals;

(6) application and use of any locally selected measures of student performance in the optional subcomponent of the student performance category used by the district to evaluate its teachers or principals;

(7) use of the statewide instructional reporting system;

(8) the scoring methodology utilized by the department and/or the district to evaluate a teacher or principal under this Subpart, including the weightings of each subcomponent within a category; how overall scores/ratings are generated for each subcomponent and category and application and use of the evaluation matrix(es) prescribed by the commissioner for the four designated rating categories used for the teacher's or principal's overall rating and their category ratings; and

(9) specific considerations in evaluating teachers and principals of English language learners and students with disabilities.

(c) Independent evaluators and peer evaluators shall receive training on the following elements:

(1) the New York State teaching standards and their related elements and performance indicators and the leadership standards and their related functions, as applicable;

(2) evidence-based observation techniques that are grounded in research; and

(3) application and use of the State-approved teacher or principal rubric(s) selected by the district for use in evaluations, including training on the effective application of such rubrics to observe a teacher or principal's practice.

(d) Training shall be designed to certify lead evaluators.

Districts shall describe in their annual professional performance review plan the duration and nature of the training they provide to evaluators and lead evaluators and their process for certifying lead evaluators under this section.

(e) Districts shall also describe in their annual professional performance review plan their process for ensuring that all evaluators maintain inter-rater reliability over time (such as data analysis to detect disparities on the part of one or more evaluators; periodic comparisons of a lead evaluator's assessment with another evaluator's assessment of the same classroom teacher or building principal; annual calibration sessions across evaluators) and their process for periodically recertifying all lead evaluators.

(f) Any individual who fails to receive required training or achieve certification or re-certification, as applicable, by a district pursuant to the requirements of this section shall not conduct or complete an evaluation under this Subpart.