Alternative rating system
Professional (tenured) and temporary professional employees (untenured) must be rated yearly. Also, a professional employee who is dismissed for incompetency must receive two consecutive unsatisfactory ratings. The rating form used for both of these ratings is the PDE-5501, which replaced the DEBE-333. A board of school directors may choose to adopt an alternative rating system instead of using the PDE-5501 and its standards. To implement an alternative rating system, a board of school directors must submit a plan for this rating system to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which must be approved by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education. The plan submitted by the board must include the elements specified in §351.27 of 22 Pa Code.
Regulations of the State Board of Education: 22 Pa Code §351.27