Bills that would overhaul teacher evaluations in Michigan could see movement soon in the state Legislature.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, a number of groups that didn’t support the bills now say they’re on board.
Education advocates and lobbyists have been hammering out changes to the legislation this week. Under current law, the state has to set new statewide criteria for how schools evaluate teachers and administrators.
Gary Naeyaert is with the Great Lakes Education Project, one of the groups that says it’s now ready to support the legislation.
“There is near consensus among all the groups,” he says. “And I think that’s a good sign and it’s a rare sign. And we should take advantage of it and move these bills quickly.”
One major change – bill sponsors say they plan to take out language that would limit the types of standardized tests that could replace the MEAP test next year. Naeyaert says that’s one reason his group is willing to support the bills.