An increasing number of states are mandating teacher performance be considered in educator employment decisions, including awarding tenure and layoffs, according to a 50-state policy review of teacher tenure laws. Tenure laws have historically granted job protections based on years of employment. The Education Commission of the States (ECS)…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…

While sparse literature exists investigating the impact of the Great Recession on various sectors of the economy, there is virtually no research that studies the effect of the Great Recession, or past recessions, on schools. This paper starts to fill the void. Studying school funding during the recession is of paramount importance because schools…

The article discusses District and Appeals Court rulings on competitive status seniority involving a New Jersey electric power company, several local unions of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and several other agencies, among them the EEOC. (BP)

The author describes his own school closure procedures in the Paramus, New Jersey, school district of which he is superintendent, advocating long-range planning and an emphasis on the educational benefits of such closures. Also included is advice on when and how to lay off administrators. (JBM)

A study examined the Canadian-American Plant Closing Demonstration Project (CAPCDP) to assess the influence of the labor-management approach on factors critical to project success and to identify practices that enabled the labor-management committees set up under the project to work better. CAPCDPs in Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, and Vermont were…

Discusses economic and legal issues related to declining public school enrollments and pressures for "reduction in force" (RIF) of teachers. Reviews developments involving RIF cases in New Jersey and Yonkers, New York. Recommends school boards not agree to contracts that limit their ability to lay off personnel for economic reasons. (JG)

Collective bargaining agreements of 15 selected New Jersey two-year colleges are presented, representing contracts in effect in 1987. Contracts for the following colleges are included: Atlantic Community College, Bergen Community College, Brookdale Community College, Burlington County College, Camden County College, County College of Morris,…