(a) In appraising teachers, each school district shall use:
(1) the appraisal process and performance criteria developed by the commissioner; or
(2) an appraisal process and performance criteria:
(A) developed by the district- and campus-level committees established under § 11.251;
(B) containing the items described by Sections 21.351(a)(1) and (2); and
(C) adopted by the board of trustees.
(a-1) A school district may not assign an area of deficiency to a teacher solely on the basis of disciplinary referrals made by the teacher or documentation regarding student conduct submitted by the teacher under § 37.002. This subsection does not prohibit a teacher from being assigned an area of deficiency based on documented evidence of a deficiency in classroom management obtained through observation or a substantiated report.

(b) The board of trustees may reject an appraisal process and performance criteria developed by the district- and campus-level committees but may not modify the process or criteria.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, appraisal must be done at least once for each school year. A teacher may be appraised less frequently if the teacher agrees in writing and the teacher’s most recent evaluation rated the teacher as at least proficient, or the equivalent, and did not identify any area of deficiency. A teacher who is appraised less frequently than annually must be appraised at least once during each period of five school years. The district shall maintain a written copy of the evaluation of each teacher’s performance in the teacher’s personnel file. Each teacher is entitled to receive a written copy of the evaluation promptly on its completion. After receiving a written copy of the evaluation, a teacher is entitled to a second appraisal by a different appraiser or to submit a written rebuttal to the evaluation to be attached to the evaluation in the teacher’s personnel file. The evaluation and any rebuttal may be given to another school district at which the teacher has applied for employment at the request of that district.
(c-1) In addition to conducting a complete appraisal as frequently as required by Subsection (c), a school district shall require that appropriate components of the appraisal process, such as classroom observations and walk-throughs, occur more frequently as necessary to ensure that a teacher receives adequate evaluation and guidance. A school district shall give priority to conducting appropriate components more frequently for inexperienced teachers or experienced teachers with identified areas of deficiency.
(d) A teacher may be given advance notice of the date or time of an appraisal, but advance notice is not required.
(e) A district shall use a teacher’s consecutive appraisals from more than one year, if available, in making the district’s employment decisions and developing career recommendations for the teacher.
(f) The district shall notify a teacher of the results of any appraisal of the teacher in a timely manner so that the appraisal may be used as a developmental tool by the district and the teacher to improve the overall performance of the teacher.