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NY Legislature passes teacher eval disclosure bill

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Story Created: Jun 21, 2012 at 4:30 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 21, 2012 at 4:33 PM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York's Legislature has given final approval to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bill limiting the release of teacher evaluations only to parents, not to the public.

The Senate approved the measure 58 to 1.

Soon after, the Assembly passed it 118 to 17.

Many lawmakers criticized the bill, saying it was unfair to teachers. But they said the bill was better than allowing broader release of their evaluations.

Once Cuomo signs the law, a teacher's evaluation will be released only to the parents and guardians of students in their class.

Legislators argued the bill is needed to avoid media exploitation attacking or embarrassing teachers if all evaluations were made public.

The bill passed Thursday comes after a court decision that said all evaluations should be public.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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