Court Upholds Teacher Evaluation Law

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A federal appeals court has upheld a controversial Florida law which ties teacher evaluations to student performance.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was not unconstitutional for the state or a school district to base part of a teacher's evaluation on tests that the teacher's students took in other subjects, or even on tests taken by children not taught by that teacher.

Essentially, the judges ruled that the state's approach to boosting student performance was not entirely unreasonable.

"While the (formula) may not be the best method --- or may even be a poor one --- for achieving this goal, it is still rational to think that the challenged evaluation procedures would advance the government's stated purpose," wrote Judge Jill Pryor in the court's opinion.

The appeal came after U.S. District Judge Mark Walker threw out parts of the case in two rulings last year.

In 2013, the state passed a law aimed at making sure classroom teachers are only assessed based on the students they teach, but the appeals court said that didn't make the lawsuit moot because the new law could still allow districts to approve similar polices.

"We're disappointed that the court did not agree that Florida's flawed evaluation system violated these teachers' constitutional rights," Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, said in a prepared statement.

Ford said the FEA, which joined with the National Education Association, local unions and seven teachers to challenge the law, was still deciding what to do next.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.