NJ Spotlight published the following article on June 12, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
TREMORS FELT HERE AFTER CALIFORNIA JUDGE’S RULING ON TEACHER TENURE
JOHN MOONEY | JUNE 12, 2014But evaluation system NJ lawmakers enacted in 2012 likely to limit the impact of Golden State decision on New Jersey
When a California judge ruled on Tuesday that teacher tenure rights were unconstitutional and violated students’ rights to a good education in that state, the news reverberated 3,000 miles away.
But before anyone thinks it will soon change much in the never-ending debate over teacher tenure in New Jersey — or even in California — think again.
The decision in Vergara v. California found that California’s tenure law allowed the weakest teachers to remain in the classroom — especially in the classrooms of low-income area students.
The ruling specifically cited seniority rights – known as “last in, first out” or LIFO — that prioritized layoffs based on the number of years of employment.