By Leslie Brody. Staff Writer. The Record.
A state Senate committee advanced a bill Monday to overhaul the century-old system for granting and revoking teacher tenure so that the job protection is linked to good performance.
A series of disparate advocacy groups expressed support for the bill, which Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, has been refining for more than a year. Many speakers said it put children’s needs for quality instruction first, while respecting the due process rights of adults.
The bill, which the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved unanimously, requires a mentorship year followed by two good evaluations for a teacher to get tenure after a fourth year on the job. A teacher would face tenure charges after poor ratings on two consecutive annual evaluations. The bill also says tenure cases should be heard by arbitrators rather than administrative judges, a change pushed by teachers’ unions.
Due to recent compromises, the bill no longer includes provisions to weaken the role of seniority in protecting veteran teachers during layoffs due to budget cuts. Ruiz had previously pushed for an end to the seniority system known as last-in-first-out but said she had to give that up to get the tenure bill passed.
The New Jersey Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Garden State Coalition of Schools, Democrats for Education Reform, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and several other groups applauded the bill.
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