The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, annulled a determination denying the petitioner-teacher's appeal of an unsatisfactory performance rating:
The record demonstrates deficiencies in the performance review process resulting in petitioner's unsatisfactory rating (U-Rating) for the 2012-2013 school year that were not merely technical but undermined the integrity and fairness of the process … . Petitioner was not given an adequate opportunity to improve her performance, and the observation reports did not suffice to alert her that her year-end rating was at risk.
Petitioner's account of the post-observation conference … , where the principal allegedly focused on the Annual Review, rather than perceived flaws in petitioner's lesson, was not refuted at the hearing and, when viewed alongside the other evidence presented, raises a factual issue as to whether the principal engineered the U-Rating to force petitioner from her job for refusing to go along with her policy of steering children into special education classes despite parental wishes to the contrary. Matter of Taylor v City of New York, 2016 NY Slip Op 03454, 1st Dept 5-3-16
EDUCATION-SCHOOL LAW (DENIAL OF APPEAL OF UNSATISFACTORY RATING OF TEACHER ANNULLED)/TEACHERS (DENIAL OF APPEAL OF UNSATISFACTORY RATING OF TEACHER ANNULLED)