To ensure every child in Colorado has access to great educators who are supported in their professional growth evaluation requirements under Senate Bill 10-191 are intended to provide meaningful, annual evaluations for all licensed personnel including principals, teachers and other education professionals who are licensed by the state.
In their work to help implement S.B. 10-191, the State Council for Educator Effectiveness (SCEE) has identified nine categories of specialized service professionals (referred to as other licensed personnel in law) and has outlined quality standards and elements applicable to all specialized service professional groups. The overall intent is to ensure that specialized service professionals’ evaluations provide meaningful and actionable feedback allowing for continuous improvement of practice.
- Audiologists
- Occupational Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- School Counselor
- School Nurse
To learn more abut specialized service professional evaluations, please download our fact sheet.
Rules Concerning the Evaluation of Specialized Service Professionals
On May 15, 2013 the State Council for Educator Effectiveness (SCEE) presented its recommendations concerning the development and implementation of a performance evaluation system for licensed education professionals other than teachers and administrators. These “specialized service professionals” include personnel who provide support to teachers and students in areas that involve student physical, emotional, and social health and well-being. To view the SCEE's recommendations, see drafts of the rules and access the final rules that were adopted, please visit our policy page.
Historical Timeline for Specialized Service Professionals Implementation
2012-13 School Year
- Created 9 work groups comprised of experts from the field
- Work groups provided recommendations for quality standards and elements (aligned with teacher) and measures of student outcomes to State Council for Educator Effectiveness
- SCEE presented recommendations to State Board of Education
- CDE facilitated work group creation of draft professional practice rubrics
2013-14 School Year
- All SSPs evaluated using local system employed in district/BOCES
- Piloted draft professional practice rubrics for Specialized Service Professionals
- Collected feedback on professional practice rubrics and measures of student outcomes
- Refined rubrics and measures of student outcomes based on feedback collected
- Trained evaluators on SSP system
2014-15 School Year
- Statewide implementation of SSP Standards and Elements, including measures of student outcomes
- Conducted validation activities for professional practice rubrics
2015 to present
- Continued statewide implementation of SSP Standards and Elements, including measures of student outcomes
Specialized Service Professionals Pilot
Nineteen sites across the state piloted the Colorado Model Evaluation System for Specialized Service Professionals during the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. These nineteen sites include Colorado schools, districts and BOCES. School districts include: Adams County 14, Aspen, Bayfield, Brush, Garfield Re-2, Greeley-Evans, Moffat County, Montrose, Morgan County, Thompson, Weld Re-4, Weld Re-8 and Weld Re-3 Special Education Consortium, Widefield and Woodland Park. The following BOCES also participated: Mountain, Northwest, and San Juan. Additionally, the Insight School of Colorado was a pilot.
These pilot efforts aligned and worked together to help us learn and make necessary mid-course corrections during the pilot phase of the Colorado Model Evaluation System. Feedback from pilot schools, districts and BOCES informed improvements to the model system throughout implementation.
Rubrics for the Current School Year
Provide feedback on any of the nine specialized service professionals rubrics
User's Guide for the Colorado State Model Educator Evaluation System
The User's Guide is available here. If you would like a Word version of the user's guide, please contact Dawn Pare'.
Measures of Student Outcomes
Guidance documents are available to highlight possible approaches for districts and BOCES to consider when selecting their measures of student outcomes for use in specialized service professional evaluation systems.
Determining a Final Rating
S.B. 10-191 requires that 50 percent of a specialized service professional's evaluation be based on professional practices and 50 percent be based on multiple measures of student outcomes. Specialized Service Professionals will earn a professional practice rating based on the rubric and a measures of student outcomes rating based on multiple measures. The professional practices and the measures of student outcomes ratings are combined to determine an overall effectiveness rating of Ineffective, Partially Effective, Effective or Highly Effective. There are several approaches and methods for combining these measures to arrive at a final effectiveness rating for specialized service professionals. Additional guidance documents are available which provide information on the approach and method used for determining a final effectiveness rating in the state model evaluation system for specialized service professionals.
Training Resources
The Colorado State Model Evaluation System Training Toolkit ensures schools, districts and BOCES have access to the latest information and resources to support staff trainings. All materials found on the website are completely customizable in order to reflect district/BCES values and needs.
For questions regarding the evaluation of specialized service professionals, please contact Courtney Cabrera.
