New York teacher evaluation is entering a new era. For educators in union-represented districts, the system used to measure professional performance is changing from APPR and its four-level HEDI rating scale to the STEPS evaluation system. Many of the decisions that will determine how the new model works, including observation practices and evidence requirements, will be made through negotiations between local districts and unions.

What STEPS means for New York teachers

STEPS stands for the Standards-based Educator Evaluation and Professional Support System. Governor Kathy Hochul established the framework by signing Chapter 143 of the Laws of 2024 on June 28, 2024. The law amended New York’s previous evaluation requirements and created a new framework under Education Law 3012-e. The Board of Regents adopted permanent regulations in March 2025, making STEPS an established policy rather than a proposal awaiting approval.

The state describes STEPS as a system intended to support educators’ professional growth. Its practical impact, however, will depend heavily on local implementation. Districts and bargaining units will help determine how observations are conducted, which forms of evidence are considered, how feedback is delivered, and what professional support follows an evaluation. Those details can affect teachers’ daily work as much as the statewide law itself.

How STEPS differs from the old system

For more than a decade, New York teachers worked under an evaluation structure commonly known as APPR, or Annual Professional Performance Review. Its HEDI scale, Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, and Ineffective, compressed a complex profession into four ratings. The system also drew criticism for its reliance on standardized test data and for evaluation formulas that many educators found difficult to understand or connect to classroom practice.

Repeated policy changes adjusted elements of APPR, including the use and weighting of state growth scores. Those revisions addressed specific problems but left the basic architecture intact. STEPS represents a broader redesign: it shifts the emphasis toward standards-based practice, professional feedback, and locally negotiated procedures.

What teachers should do now

  • Read your local agreement: Look for language covering observation frequency, evaluator training, evidence, timelines, and rating procedures.
  • Ask your union for implementation details: State guidance may not answer questions about how your district will apply the rules.
  • Document professional growth: Keep organized records of goals, feedback, student-support strategies, and professional learning.
  • Track deadlines: Confirm when observation windows open, when feedback is due, and how teachers can respond to an evaluation.

The transition matters because local agreements reached over the next several years may define New York teachers’ evaluation experience for much of the decade. Educators who understand the new framework, and participate in district or union discussions, will be better positioned to protect due process, seek useful feedback, and shape how STEPS operates in their schools.

The three changes that matter most

1. The labels change, and so does the math

Under the old model you were rated Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, or Ineffective. With HEDI ratings replaced by numbered Levels 1 through 4, the scale is rebuilt so that, in the state's words, a Level 4 "shall indicate performance that exceeds a school district's or BOCES' expectations." The reframing matters because the top of the scale is now defined against local expectations rather than a single statewide bar you may never have seen.

2. State test data comes off the table

This is the headline for a lot of teachers. Under STEPS, the state-provided growth model is gone. As the teachers' union NYSUT summarizes it, "State provided growth scores are no longer used for APPR." Any use of student growth scores is now optional and only enters your evaluation if it is agreed to through bargaining. The years when a state algorithm could hand you a rating you did not recognize are ending.

3. Almost everything is negotiated locally

The most important structural fact about the APPR changes 2026 bring is that the plan is built locally. A collectively bargained evaluation plan now sets the number of observations, the measures used, and even which staff positions are allowed to evaluate you. If you want to know how you will be judged this year, the answer lives in your local contract, not on a state web page.

Because New York’s teacher-evaluation system is shaped locally, the same state law can create very different working conditions from one district to the next. The first step is to examine the observation schedule. STEPS requires at least two classroom observations each year for probationary teachers and at least two observations during each evaluation cycle for tenured teachers. However, the cycle may span multiple years, depending on local negotiations. For tenured teachers, therefore, the key question is not simply how many observations are required. It is how often they occur. Two observations spread across a three-year cycle create a very different workload from two observations every year.

Review the rest of the district’s evaluation plan just as carefully. Find out whether it includes student-performance measures, which measures are used, and how much weight they carry. Confirm who is authorized to observe you, because that requirement may also be negotiated locally. Finally, check when the plan was last adopted or amended. Districts must submit new or materially revised plans by March 1 each year, so changes negotiated during the winter may affect the next evaluation cycle.

What to check in your district’s evaluation plan

  • Observation frequency: Count the required visits and determine whether the evaluation cycle lasts one year or several.
  • Evaluation evidence: Identify whether student work, test results, or another performance measure is included.
  • Evaluator qualifications: Confirm who may conduct observations and whether the evaluator has relevant subject-area or grade-level expertise.
  • Plan status: Find the date of the current plan and ask whether a revised version is pending.

A simple comparison shows why these details matter. Imagine two teachers in neighboring districts who are evaluated under the same state model. One works under a plan requiring two full observations each year plus a locally selected sample of student work. The other works under a three-year cycle with no student-performance data and visits announced in advance. On paper, both teachers are covered by the same statute. In practice, they face different schedules, levels of stress, and risks from a poor rating. The statute establishes the floor; the local contract determines the conditions teachers experience every day.

Why teacher evaluation affects mobility and career decisions

Evaluation ratings can influence tenure decisions and may become relevant in disciplinary proceedings. They can also affect how confident teachers feel about transferring to another district, particularly when evaluation plans differ significantly between employers. Understanding New York’s teacher-evaluation rules gives educators more leverage during observations and contract discussions. The long-term career implications also connect with retirement planning, which we examined in our Tier 6 pension playbook. Pension rules shape the end of a career; evaluation rules shape its daily terms.

The changes are part of a broader effort to reshape New York’s teaching profession. The state is also revising how new teachers are trained to teach reading. We covered those teacher-preparation rules and their 2028 timeline separately. Evaluation reform is the other side of that shift, affecting educators already working in classrooms.

The bottom line

Local control gives teachers more than variation from district to district; it also creates a route for change. If an observation schedule is impractical, an evaluator lacks appropriate expertise, or a performance measure produces misleading results, those issues can become subjects for collective bargaining. They are not necessarily permanent features imposed by a distant agency.

Districts have until June 30, 2032, to complete the transition, so some educators may work under both the old and new systems during the interim. That extended timeline is not a reason to wait. Read your current contract, request the district evaluation plan, and ask your union representative which provisions are being negotiated or revised. The plan adopted now may govern years of classroom work. Understanding its observation requirements, evaluation cycle, and use of student data is the clearest way to protect your professional standing—and help shape what the new system becomes.