Though the bills have some bipartisan support, many members of the Democrat-controlled legislature oppose them
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Gov. Chris Christie, left and Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf.TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie is expected to pressure the legislature today to take action on four school reform bills backed by his administration that have been stalled in the legislature since July, a source from the administration said.
First introduced by Christie as proposals last fall, the four bills together are comprehensive and tackle things like changing the way teachers get and keep tenure, expanding access to charter schools, offering vouchers for students in failing public schools to attend private and parochial schools, and privatizing some failing schools in the state’s five lowest performing districts.
The legislation recognizes there is “no single solution” to fixing the state’s failing schools, and that “a piecemeal, incremental approach” will not help the state close its achievement gap between wealthy and poor students, the source said.
The four bills include: School Children First Act (S-2882/A-4168), Charter School Bill (A-4167), Opportunity Scholarship Act (S-1872/A-2810) and the Urban Hope Act (S-3002/A-4264)
Though the bills have some bipartisan support, many members of the Democrat-controlled legislature oppose them. The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, has also opposed the bills.
Some Democrats, including Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) have introduced bills of their own to revamp teacher tenure and update the state’s outdated charter school law that are also stalled in the legislature.
Long criticized by the governor for standing in the way of education reform, the teachers union last week released its own set of reform proposals – which the governor scoffed at – including plans to extend the time it takes a teacher to earn tenure and expand pre-school and kindergarten access for all students.
Christie is expected to appear today with acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf at a secondary school in Secaucus to promote the legislation. On the governor’s public schedule, the event was dubbed a “Turning Around Failing Schools Education Reform Announcement.”
Perhaps the most important step in building support for Christie’s proposals is getting a majority is New Jersey’s more than 200,000 public school teachers on board. Cerf began that work last week, appearing at the NJEA’s annual convention to speak directly with teachers about the governor’s plans.
On Monday, New Jersey became one of 11 states to apply for a waiver from No Child Left Behind, the federal law governing school accountability nationwide. A draft of the application released publicly two weeks ago included a call for swift passage of the bills the governor is expected to push today.
Though the state Department of Education twice took public comment on the state’s waiver application, it’s unclear to what extent the state implemented that feedback into the final draft of the application. Cerf is expected to release a draft of the application today, the Christie administration source said.