New Jersey finds a new way

Opinion: August 10, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times: Just this week, the state of New Jersey proved that it doesn’t have to be difficult to be fair to teachers while weeding the ineffective ones from the classroom.

Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday that lengthens the time a teacher must work before receiving tenure from three years to four. It also makes that probationary period more meaningful by requiring a year of working with a mentor and two years of satisfactory evaluations before tenure can be granted. If a school wants to fire a low-performing teacher who already has tenure, it must first try to help the teacher improve. If the teacher challenges the termination, the case is submitted to binding arbitration. Teachers are given a little more than three months to contest a firing, and the cost, which is paid by the state, cannot exceed $7,500. Efforts to terminate teachers must be based on comprehensive and regular performance evaluations.

California’s current teacher protection system is similar to how New Jersey had run things for decades, but is even more dysfunctional.

Because New Jersey’s new law ensures that struggling teachers receive help and due process before they can be fired, it won the support of the state teachers union and bipartisan approval from legislators. At the same time, the law replaces the costly and time-consuming quagmire that has allowed seriously problematic teachers to remain in the classroom.