A bill that would create new standards of accountability for Wyoming educators has passed second reading in the senate.
House bill 37 (HB 37) if it passes, would require initial contract teachers to be evaluated once a year based on standards developed by each school district.
“Passage of HB 37 would allow us to use a Wyoming-preferred teacher evaluation system rather than to follow the mandates of the federal government that were previously imposed,” Superintendent of Albany County School District Jubal Yennie said.
The bill could provide for greater teacher participation in the creation of the standards against which they will be evaluated.
“This bill would allow for more effective, local evaluation systems that could be designed with the assistance of teachers,” Yennie said.
Yennie said he believes the bill will create greater accountability for teachers. However, it may differ by district.
“Because local control is going to be the outcome of this, teacher accountability will vary form district to district,” Suzanne Young, Associate Dean of the UW College of Education, said.
Because of that variation, the accreditation process for the UW College of Education may become more difficult.
“For our own accreddidation, this vill would make it more difficult for us to collect eh kind of data we need,” Young said.
More strict standards driving UW College of Education graduates to other states for when they begin their careers should not be a concern.
“Our graduates will not likely be too concerned about this,” Young said. “If the bill passes, the impact will be felt more at a system level.”
The bill was sponsored by the Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability.
