R277. Education, Administration.
R277-533. Educator Evaluation Systems.
R277-533-1. Authority and Purpose.
(1) This rule is authorized by:
(a) Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision over public education in the Board;
(b) Title 53G, Chapter 11, Part 5, Educator Evaluations, which requires the Board to make rules to establish a framework for the evaluation of educators and set policies and procedures related to educator evaluations; and
(c) Subsection 53E-3-401(4), which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and state law.
(2) The purpose of this rule is to:
(a) specify the requirements for district Educator Evaluation Systems Policies;
(b) describe the required components of district Educator Evaluation Systems; and
(c) establish requirements for how the Annual Summative Educator Evaluation Rating is reported for districts and charter schools.
R277-533-2. Definitions.
(1) "Administrator" has the same meaning as that term is defined in Subsection 53G-11-501(1).
(2) "Certified rater" means an educator who has been trained in evaluating educator performance and has demonstrated competency in using an educator evaluation tool to rate educator effectiveness according to established standards.
(3) "Educator" has the same meaning as that term is defined in Subsection 53G-11-501(6).
(4) "Evaluator" means a person who is responsible for an educator's overall evaluation, including:
(a) professional performance;
(b) student growth;
(c) stakeholder input; and
(d) other indicators of professional improvement.
(5) "Rater" means a person who conducts an observation of an educator related to an educator's evaluation.
(6) "School district" includes the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(7) "System" means a school district's educator evaluation system.
R277-533-3. School District Educator Evaluation Systems.
(1) A local school board shall adopt a district educator evaluation system in consultation with a joint committee established by the local school board as described in Section 53G-11-506.
(2) A district educator evaluation system shall:
(a) include the components required in Section 53G-11-507;
(b) include the following four differentiated levels of performance:
(i) highly effective;
(ii) effective;
(iii) emerging/minimally effective; and
(iv) not effective;
(c) use multiple lines of evidence in evaluation, including:
(i) professional performance, as described in Section R277-533-4;
(ii) student academic growth, as described in Section R277-533-5;
(iii) stakeholder input, as described in Section R277-533-5; and
(iv) other indicators of professional improvement as required by the school district;
(d) provide a process for an educator to request a review of the implementation of the educator's evaluation, as described in:
(i) Section 53G-11-508; and
(ii) Section R277-533-8;
(e) include multiple observations as described in Section R277-533-4; and
(f) provide a description of the methods for gathering, using, and protecting educator data.
(3) To form the school district's system, a local school board may adopt:
(a) the Utah Model Educator Evaluator System established by the Board;
(b) an adapted system; or
(c) a school district-developed system, consistent with Rules R277-530, R277-531, and this rule.
(4) An educator is responsible for:
(a) improving the educator's performance, using resources offered by the school district; and
(b) demonstrating acceptable levels of improvement in any designated area of deficiency.
R277-533-4. Evaluators and Standards for Education Observations.
(1) A school district's system shall include observations.
(2) The school district shall use observation tools that:
(a) are aligned with the Utah Effective Educator Standards described in Rule R277-530 at the indicator level; and
(b) include multiple supervisor observations at appropriate intervals.
