Christie advisers call for tough new school rules

| Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/04/2010

Christie\’s transition advisers have recommended expanding the number of charter schools, re-evaluating hundreds of education regulations, and radically tightening eligibility for high-school students applying to the NJ STARS college-tuition program.

That\’s just a start. The education transition subcommittee, in a recent 25-page report, suggested that Christie think about stripping the state Board of Education of policy powers. Ditto for the state Council on Higher Education.

And in a move that snapped union members to attention, it floated the idea of tying teacher and principal raises to student performance and requiring teachers to work for five years, up from three, before they can get tenure.

What the naming of Bret Schundler, the political maverick and conservative school-choice champion, as state education commissioner strongly suggested, the subcommittee\’s recommendations solidified: The Christie administration plans a radical rethinking of the public education system.

via www.philly.com