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NJ Gov. Chris Christie Says He Wants Earned Tenure In Education Proposals

TRENTON, NJ (CBSNewYork / AP) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is sending proposals to the legislature that would change teacher tenure and evaluations and introduce merit pay.

WCBS 880's Levon Putney With Comment From Gov. Christie

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"We do not want to see the elimination of tenure," said Christie.

Christie announced seven bills on Wednesday. They include basing teacher evaluations equally on student performance and peer reviews and granting tenure after three years of effective evaluations. Teachers would lose tenure protections for ineffective ratings.

Christie said, "What we want to become is something that good teachers earn."

1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports: Christie Acknowledges That The Current System Is Broken

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Christie also wants to get rid of the last in - first out policy for firings and pay.

"This is a profession where there are no rewards for excellence and no consequences for failure. We need to end that," said Christie.

In addition, Christie said he wants to get rid of the practice of moving bad teachers around to different schools.

LINK: Proposal Details from the Governor's Website

The Republican says 104,000 public school students in 200 chronically failing schools deserve a new approach to education.

Christie has been talking about education reform for months. Most of his proposals will require approval from the Democratic-controlled legislature.

There is no word yet which legislators will sponsor the bills or on whether they'll be put up for hearings.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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