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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

NJEA to reveal plans on teacher tenure system criticized by Gov. Christie | NJ.com

NJEA to reveal plans on teacher tenure system criticized by Gov. Christie | NJ.com

NJEA to reveal plans on teacher tenure system criticized by Gov. Christie

Published: Tuesday, December 07, 2010, 8:30 AM Updated: Tuesday, December 07, 2010, 8:34 AM
njea-tenure.jpgNew Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian at the podium with three members of the New Jersey State Board of Education meeting at the NJEA convention in Atlantic City in this November 2010 photo.
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TRENTON —The state’s largest teachers union will unveil plans today to streamline the process for removing tenured teachers from the classroom, just days before the Senate Education Committee holds a hearing on tenure and its impact on public education.

Tenure, the job protection afforded to New Jersey educators after three years and one day on the job, has come under increasing fire from Gov. Chris Christie and some education advocacy groups.

Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, said Monday that the union "will address the legal process for removing tenured teachers (and) make it more efficient," by proposing a system that would "take the judges out of the picture. " and use arbitration instead.

He did not offer