Idaho Ed Board plans crackdown on false teacher evaluation data, also apparently violates open meeting law
Idaho’s state Board of Education voted today to crack down on bad teacher evaluation data, reports Idaho EdNews, calling for imposing fines against school superintendents who deliberately send false data to the state. The board gave the idea its preliminary approval Monday morning, during a hastily arranged meeting that was held via conference call. The meeting announcement was cryptic, saying only, “The purpose of the meeting is to consider the 2017 legislative agenda.”
Idaho EdNews reporter Kevin Richert reports that Board members endorsed adding language on teacher evaluation data to the career ladder law, the state’s five-year plan to boost teacher salaries. It would read, in part: “The intentional misreporting of employee evaluation ratings is a violation of the code of ethics for Idaho professional educators and will result in an investigation by the professional standards commission.” Administrators who intentionally send false evaluation data to the state could be subject to a $10,000 fine for a first offense. Subsequent violations could draw to a $50,000 fine.
Idaho Education News reportedin 2015 that two district superintendents admitted sending in false teacher evaluation data to the state; both contended the local evaluation scores were none of the state’s business, so they sent in identical scores for all of their teachers.
Richert reports that the board met for 45 minutes, and also discussed a possible change in dual credit course criteria. His full report is online here.
The Idaho Open Meeting Law requires not less than a five calendar day notice of a regular meeting and 48-hour notice of the meeting's agenda, or a 24-hour meeting and agenda notice for a special meeting. The board’s emailed meeting notice – sent out less than five hours before the start of the meeting this morning – didn’t say whether it was a regular or special meeting. Special meetings, according to the law, can be called on less than 24 hours notice only when “an emergency exists,” defined as “a situation involving injury or damage to persons or property, or immediate financial loss, or the likelihood of such injury, damage or loss.”
State Board spokesman Blake Youde acknowledged the late notice to reporters, but told Idaho EdNews he believed the meeting did not violate open meeting law, because he said notice of the meeting was posted late last week on the state board’s website, more than 24 hours in advance of the Monday morning meeting.
