Obion County Board of Education
May 3, 2010

Background Information:

During the Special Legislative Session, teacher tenure received an ample amount of attention from the Governor and our elected lawmakers. The role of teacher evaluations, particularly the value-added evaluations, has been of limited use to the Board when it comes to establishing tenure. The recent amendment of TCA §49-1-606(a) removed the prohibition on the use of teacher evaluations before the accumulation of three years of data. Due to the recent law change, TSBA revised its sample policy. The Board will now be allowed to use value-added in determining the tenure award. To this end, the recommended amendment to Board policy includes the use of an “annual estimate of teacher effect on student progress.” To bring our current policy into compliance with law, line 10 needs to be amended as reflected on TSBA’s sample policy.

Staff Recommendation:

I recommend approval of the amendment to Board Policy #5.117 – Procedure for Granting Tenure, as set forth above, on first reading.