As you may know, I’m tied up covering teacher-education rulemaking this morning.
Fortunately, State EdWatch’s Sean Cavanagh has some important news for you on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s bold attempt to spur teacher-evaluation reform in the state by conditioning state aid on the finalization of such systems.
Sean writes:
As part of his budget plan, Cuomo said that school districts will not be eligible for a boost in funding he’s offering unless they have implemented the new teacher-evaluation process by Jan. 17, 2013. (See page 27 of the budget document.)
In order for that to happen, the state and the NYSUT would presumably need to reach an agreement. The governor said he would give the them 30 days to do so, or he will ask the legislature to approve a brand new teacher-evaluation law.
“I believe if we implement this system, the federal government will accept this and will not withdraw our Race to the Top money,” Cuomo said in a speech outlining his plan. “The equation is simple at the end of the day--no evaluation, no money.”
Read his full item for more.