Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) December 2023 Overview
PART 50 - EVALUATION OF EDUCATOR LICENSED EMPLOYEES UNDER ARTICLES 24A AND 34 OF THE SCHOOL CODE
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How the PERA Law impacts you:
Evidence of each teacher’s professional practice must be collected using formal and informal observations.
i. For each tenured teacher who received an excellent or proficient rating, 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.
ii. For each tenured teacher who received a needs improvement or unsatisfactory rating, a minimum of three observations are required in the school year immediately following the year in which the needs improvement or unsatisfactory rating was assigned, of which two must be formal observations.
iii. For each nontenured teacher, a minimum of three observations are required each school year, of which two must be formal observations.
A school district may evaluate teachers more frequently than the law requires. The law establishes the minimum number of evaluations a teacher may receive; however, it is the last summative evaluation for a school year that shall serve as the evaluation that counts with respect to tenure acquisition.
Tenure Law
For teachers first employed as full-time teachers after the PERA implementation date but before July 1, 2023:
a. Tenure is given to teachers who have completed four consecutive school terms of employment earning a proficient or better overall rating in their fourth school term and also in either of their second or third school terms.
b. Portable tenure is given to teachers who previously attained tenure in a different district if other statutory requirements are met.
c. Accelerated tenure is given to teachers who have completed three consecutive school terms of employment and received two overall performance ratings of excellent.
For teachers first employed as full-time teachers on or after July 1, 2023, tenure is given to teachers who have completed:
- 3 consecutive school terms of service in which the teacher holds a PEL and receives overall annual evaluation ratings of at least “Proficient” in the second and third school terms; or
- 2 consecutive school terms of service in which the teacher holds a PEL AND receives 2 overall annual evaluation ratings of “Excellent.”
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