School districts are currently required to establish a teacher evaluation plan providing for the formal evaluation of all tenured teachers at least once every two school years.  The Code is now amended to provide that, instead of evaluating tenured teachers every two school years, districts have the option to extend that time to 3 years.  The tenured teacher must have first received at least a proficient rating. The amendment also adds that all school districts are to implement an informal teacher observation plan, as established by ISBE regulation, and by agreement of the District’s PERA committee, to ensure that every tenured teacher rated at least proficient must be informally observed at least once within 2 school years after receipt of the rating.  Such a change in the evaluation plan is to be made by September 1, 2022.  So, while you can extend the formal evaluation for one school year, school districts will still have to conduct this informal observation during the two school years after the excellent or proficient evaluation is issued.

NOTECurrent ISBE regulations already require evidence of professional practice shall be collected through the use of multiple observations that include formal and informal observations and that for each tenured teacher who received either an “excellent” or “proficient” performance evaluation rating in his or her last performance evaluation, a minimum of two observations are required during the cycle in which the current evaluation is conducted, one of which must be a formal observation.  23 Ill.Ad.Code Sec. 50.120

The full text of the public act is available at:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-0252

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