Pay-for-Tenure Swap for D.C. Teachers Under Debate

Washington

The District of Columbia’s 4,000 teachers will be asked to vote next month on a tentative contract that would offer those willing to forgo tenure protections the opportunity to earn up to $131,000 by next school year if their students post significant learning gains.

Along with the performance-based pay and tenure changes, the contract would formally dismantle the seniority system.

While other districts have put performance-pay systems in place and others still have relaxed seniority rules, the initiative coming out of the nation’s capital would, in one stroke, swap job protection for salaries that outpace what most...