Teacher tenure bill advances in Tennessee senate

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

NASHVILLE - Teacher tenure will be harder to attain and keep under a Haslam administration bill approved by the Republican-led Senate Education Committee.

The bill passed the committee on a 6-3 party line vote.

Senate Majority Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said the bill, which among other things expands the probationary period before tenure is granted from three to five years, will "help us all along on this next stop on the continuum of reform."

But Tennessee Education Association President Gera Summerford, a Sevier County math teacher, warned committee members that the state teacher evaluation system on which the process depends is still being developed and, in some instances, may be based on system-wide data and not individual classrooms.

"Due process and continued employment should not be based on an uncertain evaluation system or on the data from students who are not inside their classroom," Summerford said.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.