By Karen Yi, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — A group of Newark parents has lost a legal battle to overhaul the way public school teachers in the state are laid-off — dealing another blow to education reform groups that have tried to dismantle similar protections across the country.
In New Jersey, school districts must lay off teachers based on seniority, regardless of performance in the classroom.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Mary J. Jacobson dismissed a lawsuit filed by six Newark parents who argued the last-in-first-out rule for teacher layoffs violated constitutional rights of the students.
[…]The teachers union lauded the ruling and reiterated that students need experienced teachers in the classroom.
“This dismissal puts a fine point on the need to keep experienced teachers in schools rather than find ways to undermine and fire them,” Donna Chiera, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey said in a statement.
Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon told NJ Advance Media, eliminating seniority protections would allow districts to fire the most veteran — and highest paid — teachers to appease budgets.
“We know that experience makes a difference,” he said. “These schools are already stretched thin by years of underfunding, adding instability by removing experienced teachers would only hurt students.”
Abeigon added that there is no evidence to show how the law is hurting kids.
“The plaintiffs were about ideology not evidence,” he added.
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