Governor O’Malley Introduces Education Reform Legislation

On the heels of the College Board’s release of its annual report ranking Maryland #1 in the nation for Advance Placement scores for a second straight year and Education Week Magazine’s second straight #1 ranking for Maryland public schools, Governor Martin O’Malley today introduced legislation to further reform Maryland schools as State education leaders prepare to apply for federal “Race to the Top” funding. 

The Governor’s Education Reform Act of 2010 includes reforms in the following major categories:

Teacher Tenure

Currently, a teacher is eligible for tenure after a two-year probationary period. If the teacher does not meet the requirements for tenure after two years, he or she is assigned a mentor during a third year of teaching and re-evaluated for tenure after that year.

This bill extends the period before a teacher is eligible for tenure from two years to three years. This is the same length of time required by at least 33 other states. To promote teacher effectiveness, the bill also provides for additional mentoring and professional development for non-tenured teachers who need additional support.

Student Growth in Evaluations

As set forth in the federal Race to the Top guidelines, the Education Reform Act of 2010 requires that student growth data be a significant factor in the evaluations of teachers and principals.  However, because of the complex factors that affect student performance, the bill also requires that other factors be considered as well. The State Board of Education will establish a framework to help guide the implementation of these requirements at the local level.   Schools systems that participate in the State’s Race to the Top application may be subject to additional requirements regarding student growth data.

Differentiated Pay

State law already authorizes differentiated pay programs to attract highly effective teachers and principals to low-performing schools or hard to staff subjects.  Under the Education Reform Act of 2010, the State would provide additional stipends to teachers and principals in the lowest achieving five percent of Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.  Implementation of this stipend program is contingent upon Maryland’s receipt of Race to the Top funds.

Each school system that participates in the State’s Race to the Top application will be required to develop a plan that includes strategies to promote the equitable distribution of teachers and or principals across their districts, including their high-poverty and/or high-minority schools as well as hard to staff subjects and specialty areas.