Teachers Groups Sue Over Performance Evaluations

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – A coalition of teachers unions have filed suit against the state and three local school boards over the planned performance evaluation that will assign grades to Florida's teachers.

The suit was filed Tuesday in a Gainesville federal court. It's being backed by the National Education Association and the Florida Education Association and includes seven teachers from around the state as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit's complaint targets the Student Success Act which was passed by the state legislature in 2011. The suit alleges the current teacher evaluation system would violate teachers' constitutional rights.

The system is partially based on scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. Teachers contend that if too much weight is given to the test then teachers will have to teach the test to meet arbitrary achievement levels, rather than truly teaching kids.

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