Law & Courts News in Brief

Arbitrator Rules N.J. District Fired Teacher Prematurely

By Stephen Sawchuk — October 27, 2014 1 min read
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An arbitrator has sided with a teacher dismissed for “inefficiency” in Newark, N.J., saying the district impermissibly used her review under a pilot teacher-evaluation system as evidence of her performance.

A state law establishing that two poor evaluations are grounds for dismissal passed in 2012 but was not implemented until last fall. The teacher was dismissed after poor evaluations in 2012-13 and 2013-14. But the first rating was given in a pilot year and did not adhere to procedures set by the state, she argued.

The arbitrator ordered her reinstated with back pay.

A version of this article appeared in the October 29, 2014 edition of Education Week as Arbitrator Rules N.J. District Fired Teacher Prematurely

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