Tennessee Gov. Bill HaslamNASHVILLE – A bill to close public access to teacher evaluation records is headed for the governor’s signature.
The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Richard Montgomery, of Sevierville, passed the House on a 93-0 vote Thursday without debate.
The Senate previously passed the bill 27-0 , meaning it now heads for Gov. Bill Haslam’s desk. Haslam has said he supports the measure to keep the evaluations confidential, even though it would deny parents the ability to find out whether their children are being instructed by poorly performing teachers.
Under recent changes to state law, half of a teacher’s assessment must derive from testing data, while the rest comes from classroom observations. The new system has been criticized heavily by educators.