On Tuesday Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation that dramatically changes the route to tenure for teachers in public school systems.
“„Gov. Rick Snyder today signed teacher tenure reform legislation that ends the “Last In, First Out” practice through which school districts make staffing decisions based solely on seniority, in favor of a new system that requires administrators to consider demonstrated effectiveness in the classroom. …
“„“Making staffing decisions based on merit and performance encourages good teachers to keep doing what they are doing and helps ensure students receive the highest quality education,” Snyder said. “This long overdue reform will protect outstanding teachers who are enthusiastic about the material and able to connect with students in a way that makes them want to learn.”
“„Educators will no longer be allowed to collectively bargain teacher placement and teachers at all levels can now be fired for almost any reason. Teacher evaluations will occur annually and student growth and assessment data will be weighed heavily — in 2013-14, student growth and assessment will account for 25 percent of a teacher or administrator evaluation and by 2015-16, the data will make up 49 percent of the evaluation.