Tennessee: Speaker says House could act Friday on tenure legislation

NASHVILLE _ House Speaker Kent Williams today said he is "extremely pleased" that the Bredesen administration and the Tennessee Education Association have worked out differences over the role of student achievement data in teacher tenure and annual evaluations.

"It looks like we're ready to move now," Speaker Williams said regarding legislation aimed at overhauling state tenure and accountability laws. "It looks like everyone's on board now."

He said he thinks the House can act on Friday to give final approval to changes in state law that Gov. Phil Bredesen says are necessary for Tennessee to vie successfully in the federal Race to the Top competition. The state's application is due this coming Tuesday.

A special session on the changes began Tuesday. The TEA voted Tuesday night to go along with the governor's demands that student achievement data count for 50 percent in tenure and evaluation decisions. Thirty-five percent will involve use of value-added testing, which seeks to measure the impact of individual teachers on student gains. The remaining 15 percent would involve as yet unspecified data.

Later today, the State Board of Education is expected to approve the 50 percent figure on first reading.

Lawmakers are also looking at higher education reforms during the special session.

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