16. a. A school district shall annually submit to the Commissioner of Education, for review and approval, the evaluation rubrics that the district will use to assess the effectiveness of its teachers, principals, assistant principals, and vice-principals and all other teaching staff members. The board shall ensure that an approved rubric meets the minimum standards established by the State Board of Education.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, a school district may choose to use the model evaluation rubric established by the commissioner pursuant to subsection f. of section 17 of P.L.2012, c.26 (C. 18A:6-123) to assess the effectiveness of its teachers, principals, assistant principals, and vice-principals and all other teaching staff members. In the case in which the district fails to submit a rubric for review and approval, the model rubric shall be used by the district to assess the effectiveness of its teachers, principals, assistant principals, and vice-principals and all other teaching staff members.

L.2012, c.26, s.16.