Just a few years ago, tenure appeared low on the reform list for state policy makers and district administrators, viewed as too hot an issue politically to challenge. But it was front and center in the 2014 landmark "Vergara v. California" lawsuit, which challenged teacher tenure and related policies. Yet whether to grant tenure or not…

Debates over the efficacy of tenure are longstanding but tenure reform is now more prominent in the public eye given recent high-profile legislative battles in states like Ohio and Wisconsin. This focus on tenure also is a natural outgrowth of the large body of research showing that differences between individual teachers can have profound effects…

Tenure is under fire. Conservatives have long attacked such policies as tenure that constrain the ability of managers to fire whomever they want, but the latest assaults on tenure have invoked liberal egalitarian ideals. With all the problems in education, why are we so fixated on teacher tenure? What is really going on? How did tenure get its…

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)…

Restrictions on collective bargaining are spreading. But while reformers are right to question current labor practices in education, they're wrong to believe that bargaining prohibitions will solve the problems. A smarter approach would begin by putting down the sledgehammer wielded in Wisconsin and picking up a scalpel by pushing for laws aimed…

A year ago at ASBO International's Annual Meeting and Expo in Seattle, Washington, school business officials from four states presented a powerful double-session panel on the status of changes in teacher contracts and educational funding in their regions of the country. The presenters have since updated their comments with new information and…

When the modern U.S. environmental movement began in the 1970s, it relied largely on regulation to reduce negative environmental impacts. Companies responded by creating centers of environmental expertise within their organizations. The major focus of a second wave of corporate environmentalism, which began during the late 1980s, was on…

Extensive education research on the contribution of teachers to student achievement produces two generally accepted results. First, teacher quality varies substantially as measured by the value added to student achievement or future academic attainment or earnings. Second, variables often used to determine entry into the profession and…

Colleges and universities are arguably among the most enlightened and progressive institutions in America. So when it comes to maternity and career policies, one would expect that they would be at the forefront of similarly progressive accommodation practices. But in fact, colleges and universities have only recently begun to address this issue.…

Committee W on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession of the New Jersey state conference of the American Association of University Professors, distributed a questionnaire to fifty public and private, four-year and two-year college and university presidents in New Jersey. The questionnaire was designed to gather information about the…

This report reviews the experiences of two New Jersey school districts that have initiated Attendance Improvement Plans (AIP) for professional school personnel. It is intended to summarize a 1974 report entitled "Program to Improve Teacher Attendance." The districts that participated in the pilot project were Newark, with approximately…

This booklet outlines the New Jersey State Department of Education's affirmative action plan to achieve equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment in the State Department of Education. The plan calls for compliance with federal and state legislation regulating employment practices and requiring fairness and equity in hiring,…

The data provided in this bulletin are grouped according to (1) office personnel and attendance personnel, (2) maintenance and operation personnel, (3) transportation personnel, and (4) cafeteria personnel. Each section reports the minimum and maximum salaries paid for various positions, the average salary increase, and the vacation policy.…

This bulletin lists salary guide and fringe benefit data for noncertified personnel in 162 of New Jersey's 604 school districts. The data provided are grouped according to (1) office and attendance personnel, (2) maintenance and operations personnel, (3) transportation personnel, and (4) cafeteria personnel. Each section reports the minimum and…

Recent hiring actions of New Jersey public colleges and universities were surveyed to determine the progress being made in increasing the representation of women and minorities among the institutions' employees. Information was obtained from all institutions on sex and race/ethnicity of all newly hired full-time employees. For faculty new hires,…