Vote on change to California teacher evaluations delayed

Original article in Southern California Public Radio by Julie Small.

Senate Education Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) plans to vet Assembly Bill 5,which would change how school districts evaluate teachers, delaying a final vote expected this week.

Keith Higginbotham, Sen. Lowenthal’s press secretary, said Thursday Sen. Lowenthal had always intended to review the amendments to AB5 — a promise he'd made repeatedly last year.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and a coalition of education advocacy groups oppose AB5 because it strikes from state law the requirement that student test scores are included in teacher evaluations.

As for the timing of a hearing on AB5, Higginbotham says that’s anybody’s guess, but it would have to be before the legislative session ends on midnight Aug. 31.