Teachers would be given one of 4 ratings
Gov. Chris Christie, left, with acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf in an April 4 photo.TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today unveiled a package of seven education reform bills that propose linking tenure attainment and merit pay to a statewide teacher evaluation system he hopes will be functional by the 2012-2013 school year.
Under the new system, teachers would be given one of four ratings – highly effective, effective, partially effective, or ineffective.
Teachers given the two highest ratings three years in a row would be eligible for tenure. Educators rated partially effective for two years or ineffective for one year would lose their job protections and could be fired at a principal's discretion.
“We want tenure to become something good teachers earn, that will protect good teachers from political firings or personal relationship firings,” Christie said at a press conference outside his office. “It will not protect bad teachers who stay in front of the classroom.”
The package of bills, which Christie said he hopes will move through the legislature swiftly and conjunctively, also proposes ending a practice known as “last in first out,” which requires principals to fire less experienced teachers before firing their most senior staff.
“Young teachers, new teachers, who because of the last in first out system are the ones who go based purely on seniority,” said Christie of current law. “Teachers who are effective are not worried about losing their jobs.”
Other initiatives in this package of bills include: ending a practice known as mutual consent that forces principles to employ teachers regardless of their skill level, encouraging teachers to work in high needs school districts and difficult to staff subject areas like math or science, and placing a 30 day deadline on the time administrative law judges have to decide on tenure revocation cases.
Christie said he became impatient waiting for the legislature to introduce legislation on these issues independently and that 100,000 children in the state's 200 failing districts could not wait any longer.
He also criticized the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, for being opposed to his reforms. One bill proposes allowing school districts to opt out of the civil service system.
"We have an obligation to educate every child in the state," Christie said. "The teachers union, they're practically abandoning kids in Newark, kids in Paterson, kids in Camden, kids in Trenton because they say socioeconomic status determine' a child's ability to learn. They throw their hands up. It;'s outrageous."
Previous coverage:
• Gov. Christie continues assault on teachers unions at town hall meeting in Cape May County
• Gov. Christie conditionally vetoes bill on renegotiating N.J. teachers contracts
• Gov. Christie pushes tenure reform at N.Y. nonpartisan think tank event
• Gov. Christie pledges reinvestment in higher education, talks tenure reform at Nutley town hall
• Acting N.J. education chief unveils Christie's plan to reform teacher tenure, introduce merit pay
• Acting N.J. education chief to announce plans for sweeping legislative reform of teacher tenure
• Christie pushes school choice, eliminating teacher tenure during pro-charter school film screening
• Gov. Christie pushes five-year performance review for teachers
• Complete Star-Ledger coverage of the continuing dispute between N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, NJEA