§3884.  Evaluation records; response; access

A.(1)  Each evaluation required in this Part shall be documented in writing and a copy shall be transmitted to the school employee not later than fifteen days after the evaluation takes place.  The employee shall have the right to initiate a written reaction or response to the evaluation.  Such response and evaluation shall become a permanent attachment to the official personnel file for the employee.

(2)  After the evaluation and any documentation related thereto has been transmitted to the employee, upon request of the employee, and before the end of the school year, a meeting shall be held between the employee and the appropriate official of the local board in order that the employee may respond to the evaluation and have the opportunity to amend, remove, or strike any information proven to be inaccurate or invalid as may be found within the written documentation and from the employee's personnel file.  The employee shall have the right to receive proof by documentation of any item contained in the evaluation that the employee believes to be inaccurate, invalid, or misrepresented.  If such documentation is not presented, such items shall be removed from the evaluation record and shall not be the basis for any decision of the board regarding certification or the local board regarding any employee action.

B.  Copies of the evaluation results and any documentation related thereto of any school employee may be retained by the local board, the board, or the department and, if retained, are confidential, do not constitute a public record, and shall not be released or shown to any person except:

(1)  To the evaluated school employee or his designated representative.

(2)  To authorized school system officers and employees for all personnel matters, including employment application, and for any hearing, which relates to personnel matters, which includes the authorized representative of any school or school system, public or private, to which the employee has made application for employment.

(3)  For introduction in evidence or discovery in any court action between the board and a teacher in which either:

(a)  The competency of the teacher is at issue.

(b)  The evaluation was an exhibit at a hearing, the result of which is challenged.

C.  The superintendent of education shall make available to the public the data specified in R.S. 17:3902(B)(5) as may be useful for conducting statistical analyses and evaluations of educational personnel but shall not reveal information pertaining to the evaluation report of a particular employee.  Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, such public information may include school level student growth data as specified in R.S. 17:3902(B)(5).

D.  Any local board wishing to hire a person who has been evaluated pursuant to this Chapter, whether that person is already employed by that school system or not, shall request such person's evaluation results as part of the application process.  The board to which application is being made shall inform the applicant that as part of the mandated process, the applicant's evaluation results will be requested.  The applicant shall be given the opportunity to apply, review the information received, and provide any response or information the applicant deems appropriate.

Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 1, §2, eff. June 22, 1994; Acts 2010, No. 54, §1, eff. May 27, 2010.