During the 2011 Legislative Session, we supported legislation that would improve evaluations for teachers and principals. We brought teachers to Austin to testify – according to one legislator, more teachers he’d ever seen testify in his committee. In addition, our advocates sent more than 150 advocacy emails to targeted legislators, and we launched a microsite to support our efforts. Legislation improving principal appraisals passed, and we are continuing to pursue methods to make teacher evaluations more meaningful outside of the session.
In addition, we advocated for legislation that would end “last in, first out” hiring practices, enabling districts to consider a teacher's strengths, not just the number of years they've been on the job, when making reductions in force. That legislation succeeded in the 2011 Special Session.
