Lawmakers and Lobbyists Alike Begin to Explore Tenure StrategiesLonger time to tenure, mentors, a streamlined dismissal process, and meaningful teacher evaluations are all on the agenda
With tenure reform on everyone’s lips in Trenton, some of the ideas are starting to be put on paper, too, as lawmakers begin to frame their strategies for what coming legislation could look like.
State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), the Senate’s lead player on the issue as chairman of its education committee, yesterday laid out some of the core principles that she said would likely be included in legislation she is beginning to draft.
They would include lengthening the time it takes to receive tenure from the current three years, adding a strong mentoring piece for new teachers and streamlining the dismissal process. In between, there would be some periodic review tied to teacher evaluations, Ruiz said, although she did not say if that would be a renewal or recertification.
"This tenure reform bill is not about a first-time employee,” Ruiz said in an interview. “It’s to ensure an individual who gets hired in a public school system has an opportunity to be monitored in a fair
