284.9  Review panel.
  1.  A career II teacher seeking to receive an advanced designation shall submit a portfolio of work evidence aligned with the Iowa teaching standards to a review panel established in accordance with subsection 2. A majority of the evidence in the portfolio shall be classroom-based. The review panel shall evaluate the career II teacher’s portfolio to determine whether the teacher demonstrates superior teaching skills and shall make a recommendation to the board of educational examiners whether or not the teacher shall receive an advanced designation. The standards for recommendation include, but are not limited to, meeting the Iowa teaching standards at an advanced level.
  2.  The department shall establish up to five regional review panels consisting of five members per panel. Each panel shall include, at a minimum, a nationally board-certified teacher and a school district administrator. Panel members shall be appointed by the director and shall possess the knowledge necessary to determine the quality of the evidence submitted in an applicant’s portfolio. Panel members shall serve staggered three-year terms and may be reappointed to a second term. The department shall provide support and evaluation training for panel members and convene panels as needed. Panel members shall be reimbursed for mileage expenses incurred while engaged in the performance of official duties and shall receive per diem compensation by the department.
  3.  To assure fairness and consistency in the evaluation process, the review panels may perform random audits of the comprehensive evaluations and performance reviews conducted by evaluators throughout the state, and may randomly review how the evaluators are evaluating teachers based upon the Iowa teaching standards.
  4.  A teacher who does not receive a recommendation from a review panel may appeal that denial to an administrative law judge located in the department of inspections and appeals. The state shall not be liable for a teacher’s attorney fees, costs, or damages that may result from an appeal of a review panel’s decision. The state board shall adopt rules to administer this section.
  5.  This section is repealed July 1, 2016.
2001 Acts, ch 161, §10; 2001 Acts, ch 177, §7, 15; 2003 Acts, ch 180, §48; 2013 Acts, ch 121, §65

NEW subsection 5