P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI

School Boards Oppose Union Bill to Give Lifetime Tenure to Teacher Aids

TRENTON, November 13, 2008 — The New Jersey School Boards Association today is speaking out against a bill that would grant lifetime tenure protections to teaching paraprofessionals.

The Assembly Education Committee is expected today to release A-420 (Handlin,Voss), a bill that would effectively give protections of lifetime tenure to teaching paraprofessionals in Title I school districts. In all, 513 New Jersey school districts receive federal Title I funding. The bill is already posted for a vote by the full Assembly on Monday, Nov. 17.

New Jersey’s current tenure laws are designed so school districts can only remove a tenured employee through lengthy and costly legal proceedings. School districts must file “tenure charges,” where the decision whether to remove the local employee is made by the state Department of Education – only after legal hearings that can last more than a year and cost well into six-digit figures.

NJSBA said the legislation is an unnecessary exercise that would impede educational accountability, according to John Burns, NJSBA lobbyist/counsel, who provided testimony on the bill at today’s Assembly Education Committee meeting.

“State and federal statute, regulation and court decisions already guarantee equal employment opportunity and fair treatment by providing all school employees with adequate protection against dismissal for arbitrary or capricious reasons,” said NJSBA’s testimony. ”In addition, more recent statutes, such as the New Jersey School Ethics Act and the School District Accountability Act, serve as deterrents to patronage and nepotism, giving additional protection to current employees.

“NJSBA views the current lifetime tenure granted to certificated employees as a restriction on local school district efforts to improve education,” Burns’ statement continued. “Extending the benefits of lifetime tenure to paraprofessionals in an effort to protect their employment rights would further impede the ability of school management to make personnel decisions in the best interests of the education program.

“Today, local school districts are being asked to meet higher standards, provide expanded services and close the achievement gaps all with greater financial restrictions,” read NJSBA’s testimony. “A-420 could impede efforts to improve the delivery of education, while increasing the burden on local taxpayers.”

The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.