21. PERSONNEL FILES AND TEACHER EVALUATION

21.1 PERSONNEL FILES

21.1.1 All teacher files shall be maintained under the following conditions:

A. All material placed in a teacher's file and originating within the school district, shall be available to the teacher or the teacher's CTA representative at his/her request for inspection. Material originating within the school district which is derogatory to a teacher's conduct, service, character or personality shall not be placed in a teacher's file unless the teacher has had an opportunity to read it. The teacher shall acknowledge that he/she has read such material by affixing his/her signature to the actual copy to be filed. Such signature in no way indicates agreement with the content of such material. If the teacher refuses to sign, the Division of Human Resources may file the material. The teacher shall have a right to answer any material filed and his/her answer shall be reviewed by the Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Human Resources and attached to the file copy. Before disciplinary action is brought against a teacher, any material to be used in the action must be reviewed with the teacher.

Site administrators shall not incorporate letters, complaints, or personal notes into the evaluation process, which have not been reviewed with the teacher.

B. Teachers and other persons shall have the right to duplicate any information in personnel files.

21.2 EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL

21.2.1 The negotiated evaluation instruments and procedures contained in a separate document entitled "Handbooks for Instructional Personnel Assessment," is hereby specifically incorporated by reference as a part of the contract.

21.3 PROCEDURES FOR TEACHERS NOT RENOMINATED

21.3.1 When an annual contract teacher is not renominated, the reasons for such non-renomination shall be given to the teacher in writing with a copy to be sent to the Division of Human Resources with the renomination list, but not later than March 30. Teachers who are not renominated may request an administrative review before a committee made up of the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Human Resources, the General Director of Employee Relations, and the appropriate General Director of Instruction. The administrative review will also be attended by the parties involved including the appropriate director(s) and the Association staff member.

21.3.2 A request for review shall be made by the teacher or through the Association to the Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Human Resources no later than fifteen workdays after notice of non-renomination is received. Upon receipt of the request, a date for review shall then be set by the committee. No review of a teacher non-renomination shall be set earlier than fifteen nor later than thirty workdays after a request is received by the Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Human Resources.

21.3.3 The Administrative Committee shall have the authority to make the following decisions:

A. Confirm the non-renomination and advise the teacher he is ineligible for reemployment in Hillsborough County Public Schools until the conditions change for which the teacher was not renominated.

B. Overturn the non-renomination and:

1. Leave the teacher in the same school.

2. Transfer the teacher to another school.

3. Place the teacher on fourth year probation.

21.3.4 Within seven workdays of having heard the appeal, the Administrative Committee shall issue a written decision to the parties involved.

21.3.5 A teacher may grieve a non-renomination review on procedural grounds but not the final decision of the Administrative Committee as outlined in 21.3.3.

21.4 MERIT PAY PLAN

21.4.1 A teacher receiving an overall unsatisfactory evaluation shall not receive his/her experience step increase for the succeeding school year. An overall unsatisfactory teacher shall not be eligible for an experience step increase until such time as he/she receives an overall satisfactory evaluation.

21.4.2 A teacher receiving an overall satisfactory evaluation shall be eligible for an experience step increase in the year following his/her overall satisfactory evaluation subject to negotiations between the School District of Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association.

21.4.3 A teacher demonstrating outstanding teaching performance as determined by qualification for the state and district sponsored Excellent Teaching Program and certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) shall be eligible for the financial award specified in state law for each year of valid certification.

21.4.4 A teacher receiving the NBPTS certification will be disqualified from this award if, at any time, he/she receives an overall unsatisfactory evaluation.

21.4.5 The School District of Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association agree to the formation of a task force to explore additional methods and provisions for recognizing outstanding teaching performance and to recommend specific monetary awards for this purpose.