Teachers Union Wants Re-Hearing In Evaluation Case

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Teachers unions and individual educators have asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a decision upholding a controversial Florida law that tied teacher evaluations to student performance.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 7 upheld the 2011 law, dubbed the "Student Success Act."

The judges found that it did not violate constitutional rights 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 on tests taken by children not taught by that teacher.

But in a motion filed Tuesday, the unions and other plaintiffs asked for a rehearing, arguing that the court misconstrued an attorney's argument and that part of the ruling was "built entirely on a false factual premise."

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 policies.