Parents of second-level students have passed a motion that all teachers should have their performance assessed every three years by the Department of Education.
The National Parents' Council (post-primary) at its annual conference in Galway said teachers' performance should be assessed "as in any other profession" and "corrective action" taken when necessary.
The motion was proposed by the Parents Association for Community and Comprehensive Schools.
Ms Marie Danaswamy, president of the council, said that in society now most workers were accountable for the work they did, but this did not seem to be the case in schools.
"A bad teacher who is not performing can affect the lives of the children in that class for years," she said.
She said dealing with such an under-performing teacher was very difficult. If a school suggested ways for the teacher to improve his or her performance - such as taking an in-service course - there was no obligation on the teacher to accept this.
Ms Danaswamy said the motions would be forwarded in due course to the Department of Education.
The motion on assessment is likely to anger teachers.
Many of them have previously criticised the stance of the National Parents' Council, particularly during the ASTI dispute.
A motion to undertake an investigation into the number of students taking grinds was defeated.
Ms Danaswamy said the council already had enough "on its plate" and could not afford the resources needed for such a widespread study.
In her presidential address on Saturday she said consultation with parents "should be a feature of school life from the beginning of every child's career".
She said parents had the right to be consulted, particularly in the areas of social and personal development.
She echoed comments last Friday by the INTO, the primary teachers' union, about the provision of computers in schools.
"Nowadays it is essential that every young person should be computer literate, but some students have no more than a single 10-week module of computer training in any school year. This is totally inadequate and quite unacceptable in this day and age."