Current Legislation - Oct. 14, 2010

Limits Amount of Time Vacant Teaching Position Can Be Filled by Substitute Teacher:  S-435 (Turner)/A-3217 (Caputo) was released by the Assembly Education Committee and is now ready for a full Assembly floor vote.  Supported by NJEA, this legislation would limit the number of days a vacant teaching position can be filled by a substitute teacher.  New Jersey Administrative Code limits the number of days a single substitute teacher can serve in the same position in one school district.  However, there is no provision to prevent districts from having a succession of substitutes in the same position. 

Limits Amount of Time a Vacant Teaching Position Can Be Filled By Certain Teachers Employed in a Temporary Capacity:  S-2071 (Ruiz, Turner)/A-3218 (Caputo) was released by the Assembly Education Committee and is now ready for a full Assembly floor vote.  Supported by NJEA, this legislation would limit the number of days a vacant teaching position can be filled by a substitute teacher.  New Jersey Administrative Code limits the number of days a single substitute teacher can serve in the same position in one school district.  However, there is no provision to prevent districts from having a succession of substitutes in the same position. 

W age and Benefits Concessions to Offset Reductions in Force:   S-1940 (Van Drew, Ruiz)/A-2772 (Albano, Diegnan, Ramos): was released by the Assembly Education Committee by a 11-0 vote.  This bill now goes on to the full Assembly.  This NJEA initiative would require that the monetary equivalent of any wage or benefit concession agreed to by a collective bargaining unit be used by the school district to offset any reduction in force initiated for economic reasons.

Disqualifying Board of Education Members for Criminal Convictions:  A-444 (Green, Bramnick, Conners, Conaway)/S-295 (Allen, Buono) was released by the Senate Education Committee (5-0) and is ready for full Senate consideration.  This legislation disqualifies board of education members for convictions of certain crimes and requires background checks.  NJEA supported this bill but also suggested a series of friendly amendments, including covering trustees at charter schools and expungement language.

Arbitration Awards Limited to 2% Salary Cap: S-2310 (Doherty) legislation which would limit salary awards to 2% for all public employees was heard for discussion only in the Senate State Government Committee.  Speaking in opposition to the legislation was NJEA Executive Director Vince Giordano.

As part of the Governor’s “tool kit,” this legislation would impose a 2% on arbitration awards and collective bargaining agreements.  The bill’s language would specifically prohibit any mediator or fact finder from awarding settlements which would exceed by more than 2% in the aggregate for all benefits.  The Committee will determine when they will reconsider this legislation based on the hours of testimony given.