The first year of New Jersey’s new tenure law has so far resulted in a much quicker process for deciding discipline charges against teachers, while established case law has still largely determined the outcomes.
At least that’s the interpretation of an attorney who has summarized and analyzed the approximately 40 tenure cases brought before state arbitrators so far under the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey Act (TEACHNJ).
Carl Tanksley of the law firm of Parker McCay presented a summary of the first 23 of those tenure decisions at last month’s New Jersey School Boards Association convention in Atlantic City.
He said that from his perspective as an attorney representing school boards, the process has pretty much worked as intended. Tanksley’s firm represents about 80 districts, mostly in southern and central New Jersey.
“I think there are a couple of bugs to work through, but overall it’s an improvement over the old process,” he said yesterday.
Tanksley noted that the tenure decisions have come in all shapes and sizes, as the 25 state-certified arbitrators selected under the law each using their own style and wording in making decisions. But he said his review found that the arbitrators have largely followed legal precedents.