Still No Deal On NYC Teacher Evaluation System Day Ahead Of State Deadline

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The United Federation of Teachers and the city of New York have still not reached a deal on teacher evaluations, despite Thursday's deadline.

If an evaluation plan is not submitted on time, the city could lose $450 million in state aid and grants.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has sparred with the UFT throughout his tenure in office, said Wednesday that he is "always hopeful" and noted there has been a dialogue with the union.

A spokesman for the union, which represents the city's 75,000 public school teachers, said talks are continuing ahead of the deadline.

Last week, the UFT told its members that if no agreement is reached, "it will be because the mayor cannot be brought to accept our position of what a teacher evaluation system needs to be, and he will once again try to blame teachers."

New York State set a Jan. 17 deadline for each of the state's nearly 700 school districts to submit a plan for how to evaluate teachers.

According to state guidelines, teachers are to be rated highly effective, effective, developing or ineffective. Teachers rated ineffective two years in a row risk losing their jobs.

Under state law, 20 percent of the ratings must be based on students' growth on state tests. Another 20 percent must be based on local measures and the remaining 60 percent must include classroom observations and can also include parent or student surveys.

New York City is one of just a handful of districts that have not yet turned in a plan.

The city's Department of Education has an operating budget of $19.7 billion, but officials warn the possible loss in state money would have an impact.

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