Current Legislation - Sept. 23, 2010

“ZERO TOLERANCE FOR GUNS ACT”: S-2066 (Allen/Kean, T.) This legislation, which requires school districts to report to DOE certain information on students removed from school pursuant to "Zero Tolerance for Guns Act," was released from the Senate Education Committee.  The bill now moves to the full Senate for a floor vote.  NJEA supports this legislation.

CHARTER SCHOOLS:  S-2198 Scs (Ruiz, Cunningham) On September 23, the Senate Education Committee moved the Senate Committee Substitute for S-2198.  NJEA raised serious concerns with the original version of the bill, but the Senate Education Committee adopted most NJEA recommendations in the new version.  NJEA recommendations included removal of virtual/e-charter schools, strict standards on authorizers, and conflicts of interest protections—such as employment by charter schools.  The bill also ensured that charter schools could not “shop around” for a favorable decision.  Due to the adoption of most NJEA recommendations, NJEA supported the bill at the committee meeting.  The bill now goes to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, where the chairman may or may not post it for a vote or discussion.

PERC REFORMS COMING:  S-2171 (Doherty) legislation calling for reforms in PERC to limit the choices of arbitrators and capping awards has been withdrawn from the bill file.  The legislation, which had been scheduled for a hearing before the Senate State Government Committee on Sept. 23, will be rewritten to exclude school employees.  The recommendation is part of the governor’s toolkit and the revised version will likely cover only police and fire.