A bill that would require a performance management system for teachers is not expected to advance today in the Senate, after strong opposition from teachers. But the state says the absence of legislation won’t stop efforts to overhaul teacher evaluations.

On Wednesday, a day after House lawmakers essentially killed another version of the evaluations bill, the Department of Education reaffirmed its pledge to pursue performance evaluations for teachers and said a no-consequences pilot program would expand from 18 to more than 80 schools, as planned, in the coming school year.

"The department will continue to look for ways to support our teachers with appropriate training and feedback to improve educator effectiveness," DOE deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe said in an email statement.

Meanwhile, onlookers worried the apparent death of the bill this legislative session could bode poorly for Hawaii’s efforts to demonstrate progress on key education reform efforts under its Race to the Top initiative. The state’s $75 million federal Race grant is in danger of being lost because of missed targets and the bill was seen, in part, as a way of showing the Obama administration that Hawaii was serious about meeting its pledges.

The bill would have required that student academic growth be considered as one component in teacher evaluations and that those evaluations be used in high-stakes decisions such as tenure, compensation and dismissal.

Kate Walsh, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Teacher Quality, said since negotiations on a new evaluation system have produced no results, a law would have sent "the clearest signal" to the federal government that promised reforms will happen.

She added, "There haven’t been any helpful signs from Hawaii about regulations or statutes that would suggest that they’re going to get serious about teacher evaluations."

On Tuesday, House lawmakers chose to recommit the evaluations bill after an extensive lobbying campaign by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, essentially killing it this session. The Senate is likely to recommit another version today.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said that while the failure of the bill to pass may be a blow, it doesn’t send a signal that Hawaii isn’t committed to putting in place performance evaluations for teachers.

"While it’s the end of the road for these particular measures, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of a performance evaluation system tied to student growth," said Tokuda (D, Kaneohe-Kailua). "It is going to be a part of our future."

The legislative push to write into law a requirement that the DOE institute a performance management system for teachers has been among the most hotly debated education issues this session.

HSTA has argued the measure would have gone too far and this week, teachers slammed lawmakers with phone calls and emails to voice their concerns.

HSTA President Wil Okabe said the proposal would "supersede" Hawaii’s collective bargaining law and "effectively chip away at collective bargaining rights" for all public workers.

He said the way to revamp teacher evaluations is through negotiations, not legislation.

Last week, the state and HSTA resumed negotiations aimed at ending a labor dispute now in its ninth month.

The move to a performance management system has emerged as among the highest-profile elements of the state’s ambitious Race to the Top goals, in large part because of the continuing labor dispute with teachers, which has raised questions about how the rating system will move forward.

In January, public school teachers overwhelmingly voted down a proposed six-year contract that included several elements of Hawaii’s Race to the Top plan, including a new evaluation system.

Teachers continue to work under contract terms, which include wage reductions, that the state imposed in July.