NJ Education Report

Don’t miss the New Yorker profile of Tyler Clementi, his Rutgers’ peers, and the sequence of events that led to suicide (and NJ’s Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Legislation).

Here’s Star-Ledger coverage of Friday night’s meeting in Newark where Superintendent Cami Anderson was shouted off the stage by “over a thousand teachers, crowd of more than 1,000 teachers, residents and community leaders who grew increasingly hostile as she tried to explain why she wants to close seven under-achieving schools.” Also see this analysis from the Wall Street Journal, which posits that the conflicts stems from a history “where some parents, teachers and other stakeholders have grown resentful and suspicious of outsiders after more than 15 years under state control.”

NJ Spotlight reports on the passage of a bill through the Assembly Education Committee that would subject all aspiring charter schools to a public referendum. (You know how I feel about this.) From Spotlight:

The big question remains whether the bill, the most controversial of a host of charter school bills first proposed in the Assembly and Senate last year, will ever pass both houses with margins large enough.

Gov. Christie opposes the bill and “State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) has previously said she is opposed to the local referendum, contending it would stop charters altogether.”

Also from Spotlight, a status report on Sen. Ruiz’s tenure reform bill, including a few tweaks in language.

New Jersey Newsroom reports on a new bill that would raise NJ’s compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18.

Newsflash: Camden Public Schools has been underreporting violence and vandalism.

The Courier-Post has a handy gadget where you can plug in your district and see results from the recently-released standardized assessments.

“Ten years in the courts and with some of its original plaintiffs long out of school, a federal lawsuit contending that Newark effectively cheated thousands of students of special education services has been settled — with promises all around. ” (NJ Spotlight)

Remember Superintendent Roy Seitz of Parsippany, whose devoted school board ignored newly-enacted salary caps of $177,500 and awarded their liege $220,565? After a long fight with the DOE and some undetermined amount of legal fees, the school board is now suing Seitz to make him pay back the money they never should have agreed to pay him in the first place. (Daily Record.)