NJ Tenure Reform Update

Laura Waters:

No doubt this is old news to many of you, but yesterday, in a vote of 40-0, the Senate approved Sen. Teresa Ruiz's tenure reform bill. Here's coverage from NJ Spotlight, Star-Ledger, and Courier Post; also see NJ School Boards Association's overview (infused with some grumpiness about the retention of seniority-based lay-offs) and NJEA's discussion. which makes an admirable attempt to resist gloating and largely succeeds. Here's my big-picture take.

The current version of the bill, which deleted the sections on ending seniority-based lay-offs and mutual consent, was endorsed by NJEA. A key moment in negotiations over the bill was Gov. Christie's decision to step back on an ultimatum that the bill must eliminate LIFO.

There's something in the complex bill to make everyone unhappy - which most likely means that it's a very good bill.

Many of the last hurdles were removed yesterday from what now seems like all-but-certain passage of a tenure reform law for New Jersey that would make it harder for teachers to gain tenure and easier to lose it.

The Senate passed the bill sponsored by state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) with a remarkable 39-0 vote, the Republicans' unanimous support virtually assuring that Gov. Chris Christie will support it as well.

There remains a different Assembly version, but Ruiz met yesterday for a half-hour with state Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex), the Assembly's education chairman and sponsor of that bill, to work out differences.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 24, 2012 2:39 AM
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