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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 774

 
2    WHEREAS, All students thrive when they are taught by
3educators who are well prepared to support their academic,
4social, and emotional needs; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Research shows that teacher quality is the number
6one school-based factor impacting student achievement and that
7all teachers benefit from regular performance feedback they
8can use to improve their teaching methods; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA),
10which put Illinois' teacher evaluation system in place, is now
11over ten years old; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Practice and available Illinois-based research
13indicate that teacher evaluations have significantly improved
14since the passage of PERA, facilitated more productive
15conversations between educators and evaluators, and
16strengthened feedback loops relating to instructional practice
17and student learning; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The value of joint committees to problem-solve
19and negotiate elements relating to teacher evaluation is
20clear; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The value of thoughtful evaluations also comes
2with concerns that these more substantive evaluations may be
3time-consuming; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The lack of state-level research and
5disaggregated data make it challenging to fully understand the
6impact and opportunities of evaluation elements, such as
7measuring professional practice or student growth; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Any change to PERA and our State's system of
9teacher evaluation are best addressed comprehensively, rather
10than through piecemeal legislation or changes; and
 
11    WHEREAS, PERA called for the creation of the Performance
12Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) to oversee implementation
13and training relating to PERA, which uniquely represents a
14variety of important stakeholders involved in PK-12 education,
15and is convened and staffed by the State Board of Education;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, A comprehensive review of the implementation of
18PERA and the opportunity to consider whether and how
19evaluation policies might be improved would be timely and
20beneficial; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL

 

 

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1ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the
2Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) to initiate and
3complete a research study performed by an educational research
4organization that is not a state agency to examine the
5implementation of teacher evaluation in Illinois, gather
6feedback from stakeholders state-wide, and review best
7practice from other states; PEAC is urged to use that research
8to inform a set of policy recommendations that would address
9any identified challenges while preserving the core benefits
10of PERA's robust evaluation system with an interim report that
11is urged to be delivered to the legislature by January 16,
122023, which includes a full timeline for report creation,
13including a plan for gathering stakeholder feedback, with a
14final report that is urged to be delivered to the legislature
15by June 30, 2024; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That we urge the Chair of the Illinois State
17Board of Education to work with the PEAC Chair to lead this
18work; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That we urge PEAC to convene and initiate
20discussion on this charge by April 30, 2022; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22delivered to the PEAC.