NJ Education Report

N.J. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney considers the prospects of tenure reform during the Senate’s lame duck session (The Record):

It is no accident that [New Jersey] students outperform their peers from across the country. It is a combination of several factors, not the least of which is that our schools are filled with exceptional teachers.

But that does not mean that we can’t find areas of improvement. Most people, educators included, agree that the way teacher tenure works now is simply not tenable.

We must devise a new method for which teachers receive tenure, but we must do so in a way that is fair, productive and that leaves politics out of it. Tenure reform will certainly be a key issue during this lame-duck session, and the Senate looks forward to working with teachers on this issue, not vilifying them.