Dismissal for Poor Performance: New Jersey

Analysis of New Jersey's policies

In New Jersey, tenured teachers who are dismissed have multiple opportunities to appeal. After receiving notice of dismissal, teachers have 15 days to respond, unless given an extension for good cause. The commissioner then has 15 days to determine whether or not the charges warrant dismissal. If so, the commissioner refers the case to the Office of Administrative Law for a hearing, However, the state does not articulate a time frame for these proceedings except to say that a decision must be given within 60 days of the hearing's end. It appears that teachers may file a second appeal that would proceed according to the rules in the Administrative Procedure Act.

New Jersey does not explicitly make teacher ineffectiveness grounds for dismissal, nor does the state distinguish the due process rights of teachers dismissed for ineffective performance from those facing other charges commonly associated with license revocation, such as a felony and/or morality violations. The process is the same regardless of the grounds for cancellation, which include "inefficiency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming a teacher or other just cause."

Citation

N.J.S.A. 18A: 6-10; 6-11; 6-16; 6-25

Recommendations for New Jersey

Specify that classroom ineffectiveness is grounds for dismissal.
Euphemistic terms such as "inefficiency" are ambiguous at best and may be interpreted as concerning dereliction of duty rather than ineffectiveness. New Jersey should explicitly make teacher ineffectiveness grounds for dismissal so that districts do not feel they lack the legal basis for terminating consistently poor performers.

Ensure that teachers terminated for poor performance have the opportunity to appeal within a reasonable time frame.
Nonprobationary teachers who are dismissed for any grounds, including ineffectiveness, are entitled to due process. However, cases that drag on for years drain resources from school districts and create a disincentive for districts to attempt to terminate poor performers. Therefore, the state must ensure that the opportunity to appeal occurs only once and only at the district level. It is in the best interest of both the teacher and the district that a conclusion is reached within a reasonable time frame.

Distinguish the process and accompanying due process rights between dismissal for classroom ineffectiveness and dismissal for morality violations, felonies or dereliction of duty.
While nonprobationary teachers should have due process for any termination, it is important to differentiate between loss of employment and issues with far-reaching consequences that could permanently impact a teacher's right to practice. New Jersey should ensure that appeals related to classroom effectiveness are only decided by those with educational expertise.

State response to our analysis

New Jersey was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis. The state asserted that teaching staff members under tenure may only be removed after a hearing on charges of "inefficiency, incapacity, unbecoming conduct or other just cause." It is clear that what NCTQ calls ineffectiveness is what New Jersey refers to as inefficiency. The state referred to statute that says, "If the charge is inefficiency, prior to making its written determination as to certification, the board shall provide the employee with written notice of the alleged inefficiency, specifying the nature thereto, and allow at least 90 days in which to correct and overcome the inefficiency." 

The state noted that specific timelines are set for each stage of the tenure hearing process. For non-tenured teachers, all the process they are due is in their contracts—usually a 60-day notice for termination for any cause. Nontenured individuals may be entitled to a name-clearing hearing before the Commissioner if their reputations have been tainted by the district's allegations of wrong-doing.

Last word

It is not at all clear that what NCTQ calls ineffectiveness is what New Jersey refers to as inefficiency. This is not a matter of semantics. If New Jersey intends to permit the dismissal of teachers for ineffectiveness, then the state should articulate policy to say as much. Unfortunately, the current terms the state uses to define grounds for dismissal fail to make it clear for districts that they can legally terminate poor performers.