HB 291 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATOR EVALUATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE TERMINATION OF SERVICES OF PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES.
Last action — Signed by Governor
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed House
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✓Passed Senate
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 24, 2022. Enacted.
Odds of enactment
High chanceBased on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.
Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.
A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.
Prognosis
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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12 sponsors
4 primary, 8 co-sponsors signed on.
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Bipartisan support
Sponsored across 2 parties (10 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 1 recorded vote so far.
Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.
Summary
This Act continues the changes made to the Delaware Performance Appraisal System II created under Senate Bill 42 of the 151st General Assembly, with modifications. In order to maintain an evaluation system under current operational challenges, this bill modifies Senate Bill 42 by allowing evidence collected during the observation and feedback cycle to be used a part of the evaluation cycle, to assign a summative rating, and to place educators on improvement plans, if needed. Additionally, this bill extends the pilot for the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System, created under House Bill 133 of the 151st General Assembly, to the 2022-2023 school year, moving the start date for statewide implementation to the 2023-2024 school year. This bill also reconciles inconsistencies that have arisen with educators’ hearing rights as outlined in Chapter 14 of Title 14 due to the suspension of the state assessment in 2019-2020 school year and low participation in the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, this bill aligns Chapter 14 with the new educator evaluation system, the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System, by placing the emphasis on building a culture of professionalism and learning within every school, which is measured in a summative evaluation, rather than one component of an evaluation. This substitute bill is substantively the same as House Bill No. 291. Some technical corrections were made to accommodate language in 14 Del. C. § 1270(g) that was scheduled to sunset in 2022.
Bill Text
- Bill Text View text Current pdf
Action History
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Signed by Governor
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Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
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Suspension of Rules in Senate
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Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
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Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 4 Favorable, 11 On Its Merits
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Adopted in lieu of the original bill HB 291, and Assigned to Education Committee in House
Sponsors
- Debra Heffernan · Primary
- Laura V. Sturgeon · Primary
- Bryan Townsend · Primary
- Kimberly Williams · Primary
- Dave G. Lawson · Cosponsor
- S. Elizabeth Lockman · Cosponsor
- Nicole Poore · Cosponsor
- David P. Sokola · Cosponsor
- John "Jack" Walsh · Cosponsor
- Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha · Cosponsor
- Eric Morrison · Cosponsor
- Michael F. Smith · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →4 sponsors · 8 co-sponsors · 50 not signed on
Sponsors (4)
- Debra Heffernan Democratic
- Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic
- Bryan Townsend Democratic
- Kimberly Williams Democratic
Co-sponsors (8)
- Dave G. Lawson Republican
- S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic
- Nicole Poore Democratic
- David P. Sokola Democratic
- John "Jack" Walsh Democratic
- Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic
- Eric Morrison Democratic
- Michael F. Smith Republican
Not signed on (50)
50 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 50 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Democratic | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 39 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 95% | 0% | 0% | 5% |
How each member voted (41)
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does HB 291 do?
- This Act continues the changes made to the Delaware Performance Appraisal System II created under Senate Bill 42 of the 151st General Assembly, with modifications. In order to maintain an evaluation system under current operational challenges, this bill modifies Senate Bill 42 by allowing evidence collected during the observation and feedback cycle to be used a part of the evaluation cycle, to assign a summative rating, and to place educators on improvement plans, if needed. Additionally, this bill extends the pilot for the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System, created under House Bill 133 of the 151st General Assembly, to the 2022-2023 school year, moving the start date for statewide implementation to the 2023-2024 school year. This bill also reconciles inconsistencies that have arisen with educators’ hearing rights as outlined in Chapter 14 of Title 14 due to the suspension of the state assessment in 2019-2020 school year and low participation in the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, this bill aligns Chapter 14 with the new educator evaluation system, the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System, by placing the emphasis on building a culture of professionalism and learning within every school, which is measured in a summative evaluation, rather than one component of an evaluation. This substitute bill is substantively the same as House Bill No. 291. Some technical corrections were made to accommodate language in 14 Del. C. § 1270(g) that was scheduled to sunset in 2022.
- Who sponsors HB 291?
- HB 291 is sponsored by Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), and Michael F. Smith (Republican).
- What is the current status of HB 291?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 24, 2022. Enacted.
- Where can I track HB 291?
- Track HB 291 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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