Board of Regents Revise Regulations on APPR

The Board of Regents adopted changes to the new APPR regulations as an emergency at its February meeting. The revisions specifically provide additional flexibility for principal evaluations and streamline a variance process.

Revisions to the Professional Performance Reviews of Building Principals

The student performance category for principals now provides for an option to use an input model as an alternative to SLOs. Using this model, principals may be evaluated using evidence of principal practice that promotes student growth related to the Leadership Standards. This model may also be used in the optional subcomponent of the student performance category.

Additional flexibility has also been provided for the principal school visit category. Multiple sources of evidence may be collected and incorporated into the school visit protocol to reflect school leadership practice and provide actionable feedback. “Where appropriate, such evidence may be aligned to district or building goals.”

Revisions to Allowable Variance

Districts who want to submit a variance to “implement new and innovative approaches to evaluation” are now able to submit the variance to SED and notify the Department that the district intends to carry forward its currently approved previous APPR plan. In prior versions of the regulations, SED required that the district submit not only the variance for approval, but first submit a new APPR plan, consistent with the new Subpart 30.3, for approval. The change significantly simplifies the variance process.

The above revisions were effective on February 11, 2020. Please feel free to contact Cindy Gallagher, director of government relations, at cgallagher@saanys.org, or by calling (518) 782-0600.