Strong evaluation systems are foundational to improving teacher and principal quality; meaningful evaluations recognize excellence, support development, and address ineffectiveness. Florida is exemplary in this area. Student growth comprises 50% of both teacher and principal evaluations or 40% for those with fewer than three years of data. All evaluations are annual, tied to professional development and observations, and use a four-tier rating of effectiveness. Principals are assessed on their ability to recruit and retain effective teachers, improve teacher performance, and provide staff with leadership opportunities. Teachers are assessed on multiple measures that are determined by the district and approved by the state. Florida can continue its leadership in this area by requiring student feedback within teacher evaluations and explicitly providing districts with the authority to develop an evaluation criteria apart from collective bargaining.

Basing personnel decisions on performance is critical to building schools that retain effective teachers and make student achievement paramount. Florida is a leader in this area; specifically, the state uses teacher effectiveness to drive decisions around teacher assignment, layoffs, and tenure. Schools have the authority to build and maintain an effective instructional team through hiring decisions and transitioning ineffective teachers out of the profession. Furthermore, when forced to lay off teachers during a budget-related reduction in force, districts must use performance to determine layoffs; seniority is expressly prohibited from being used. Lastly, Florida replaced tenure with a system of annual contracts, which offer rewards based on performance. Florida has created a system that prioritizes students and great teachers, using teacher performance as the driving influence for all personnel decisions.

To encourage a high-quality, diverse workforce, professional pay should be based on performance rather than other non-classroom factors such as seniority or degrees held. Florida has implemented a statewide compensation system that rewards its most effective teachers by tying pay increases to performance measures that prioritize student outcomes. The state no longer permits automatic base pay increases for teachers simply because they have advanced degrees. To further strengthen this system, Florida should set a specific timeframe by which teachers of non-tested subjects will be fully incorporated into the program.

Florida exhibits many markers of high-quality alternative certification policies. It offers non-university options to candidates who are completing subject-area content requirements and who hold a degree approved by the State Department of Education at the level required for the subject area specialization. The state should require a 3.0 GPA or 2.5 with five years of experience to screen for exceptional candidates. Florida is likewise a standout in program evaluation. The Department of Education reviews and approves alternative preparation programs, conducting annual performance evaluations of postsecondary institutions to measure graduates' effectiveness. Programs must guarantee graduates will be of high quality. State law requires approval of preparation programs contingent on pass rates of participants on teacher certification exams, employment rates, longitudinal retention rates, and employer satisfaction surveys.

Florida empowers parents with information and options in a number of ways. Florida has an exemplary state law that requires that all PK_12 schools receive annual report cards that include an A_F letter grade based on student achievement. State law also requires that parents be notified when their children are placed in the classroom of a teacher who has been rated unsatisfactory. To further empower parents, Florida should require districts to obtain consent from parents whose children are placed with an ineffective teacher. Additionally, parents in Florida should have the option of organizing a majority of parents with students enrolled in a chronically low-performing school to sign a petition demanding a school turnaround. In that scenario, the options for the turned-around school would be one of the four federal Race to the Top intervention models.

Florida is working to ensure students are not trapped in a failing public school by increasing quality school choice options; however, more work remains. All schools that take state dollars, including districts, public charters, and private schools taking publicly funded scholarships, should be held to the same high standards and accountability. Florida allows for the formation of public charter schools that must meet key accountability provisions, such as entering into a performance contract and undergoing annual performance reviews to ensure student learning growth. Even though state law allows for the formation of public charter schools, the state only allows local school boards to authorize new charter schools. Florida must allow more charter authorizers to expand high-quality school options in the state and ensure current charter schools have a record of success before replication. Additionally, Florida provides tax credit scholarships for low-income students to attend a private school. The state should establish a publicly funded scholarship program limited to low-income students in chronically failing public schools and ensure private schools meet certain accountability provisions.

Children stuck in chronically failing schools should have an option to attend another school of their choice without being punished by the state through reduced funding. Florida law requires charters to be funded in the same manner as traditional public schools and provides strong access to unused facilities and facility financing, including a per-pupil facilities allowance for eligible schools. However, Florida should reform its skimming provisions that currently allow up to 5% of a charter school's funding to be retained by the charter authorizer. Florida should also amend its tax credit scholarship program to provide a scholarship tuition amount that is competitive with private school tuition. The amount is currently limited to approximately $4,000 annually.

The ability to turn around failing schools is often hampered by bureaucratic red tape and politics. Florida allows the State Department of Education to intervene in low-performing schools and districts. Low-performing schools and districts are those that receive a grade of "F". State intervention in a school or district ends when student achievement in that school or district significantly increases. To allow for governance structures that streamline accountability at the local level, Florida should allow mayoral control of low-performing school districts.

Given the limited resources available for public education, states must ensure that the dollars invested drive the greatest change. Florida allows districts to achieve cost efficiencies by purchasing through existing county contracts and likewise allows charter schools to purchase services from school districts. Florida's educational funding accountability law outlines financial reporting requirements, but the state should link spending to academic achievement to fully enable data-driven decisionmaking. Florida law should also provide for governance changes when resources are mismanaged. Finally, Florida should remove less effective class-size limits past the third grade and spending restrictions that limit flexibility.

Attracting a high-quality workforce will require a competitive retirement plan. Portable retirement options, such as 401(k) plans, are an essential component of compensation packages and make the teaching profession more competitive. It is a classic win-win for teachers and districts. Under current policy, Florida provides two employer-sponsored retirement options for employees of traditional schools and certain public charter schools: a defined benefit plan and a portable defined contribution plan, referred to as the Florida Investment Plan. To provide the most career flexibility and ensure sustainability of the existing system, Florida should require all employees of traditional public schools to participate in the Florida Investment Plan and continue to make these options available to public charter schools.