N.J. passes bill to overhaul teacher-tenure system

TRENTON - Both legislative chambers unanimously approved a plan Monday to overhaul the teacher-tenure system in public schools, delivering a bill that addresses one of Gov. Christie's top priorities.

But the measure lacks an element that the Republican governor wanted: an end to the "last in, first out" seniority rule that makes newer educators the first casualties during layoffs.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the governor would directly address the tenure issue, possibly this week. The governor has been supportive of efforts by Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D., Essex) to craft a bill acceptable to a wide range of interested parties that would "bring about meaningful tenure reform," Drewniak said.

The bill would make it more difficult for teachers to achieve and retain tenure. Specifically, it lengthens to four years from the current three the time required for a teacher to earn tenure, and requires that educators receive favorable annual reviews that would be based partly on student test performance. Under the legislation, any teacher could be fired after two poor reviews.

Ruiz, who spent a year working with various parties over the bill's language, said schools should mentor new instructors to improve education.

"By strengthening our professionals, we will ensure that our students have the best teachers in the classroom, so that all children - regardless of their background, their zip code, or their socio-economic status - will have the opportunities they deserve for educational excellence," Ruiz said in a statement Monday.

The state's largest teachers' union, the New Jersey Education Association, backed the bill, but only after lawmakers relented on efforts to change seniority-based job protection.

"It's not a perfect bill," the union's president, Barbara Keshishian, said in a statement. "To make it succeed, we need to work just as closely and cooperatively to ensure that New Jersey's teacher-evaluation system is valid, reliable, and fair."