State
takes faster track for licensing of
teachers
Friday, June 10, 2005 • BY JOHN
MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff
In time for the expected crunch of new
teachers hired for next fall, New Jersey's notorious teacher
licensing system has been revamped and its backlog almost
eliminated, state officials said yesterday.
State Education Commissioner William
Librera told a legislative committee the new automated
system has brought the backlog down from a high of about
11,000 to 1,000 applicants, with the last to be completed by
the end of the month.
Meanwhile, he said new applicants will
get their licenses issued within 6 to 8 weeks, and no more
than six weeks by fall.
"It has been an extraordinary effort on
the part of many people in this department, but it has
resulted in a much more efficient and responsive process
than (the department) has ever had before," Librera
said.
While school and union officials remained
skeptical yesterday, the projected turnaround time is a big
improvement from last year when it could take six months or
even a year in some cases.
The situation grew so dire last fall that
1,000 new teachers had to work as substitute teachers -- at
lower wages -- while awaiting their licenses. The situation
prompted former Gov. Jim McGreevey in October to issue an
executive order demanding the system be fixed.
Some of the state's leading colleges and
teacher unions confirmed the system has improved, although
all did not paint as positive a picture as
Librera.
On one hand, Montclair State University
sent a batch of 270 applications into the state on May 26.
"They were completed by the state on June 3," said Caroline
Murray, assistant director of the university's Center of
Pedagogy. "A year ago, it took six to eight
weeks."
Yet state Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer,
said she still hears from people awaiting their paperwork
from as far back as January.
"I want to trust (Librera), but I will
verify," said Turner, chair of the Senate Education
Committee before which the commissioner testified. "In
September, the schools open and we don't want the same
problems as we had last year. ... This has been a
nightmare."
Librera yesterday tried to assure
legislators that such a system is now in place. The staff of
examiners has more than doubled to 15, and hours extended
for the applicants to call in with questions. The state also
has an online system up and running, allowing candidates to
file their applications directly and pay by credit
card.
State officials said they hope three
quarters of all applications will be conducted online,
further speeding the process. The site's address:
www.nj.gov/njded/ educators/license/ .
"Another part of this is a lot of people
file applications that were incomplete, and we have not had
a good system to tell them what they are missing," Librera
said. "Using an online application, it will be almost
impossible to submit an incomplete one."
The state's teacher unions pressed
McGreevey to issue the order last fall, and they said
yesterday that not all of their concerns have been
addressed.
The Newark Teachers Union is weighing a
grievance against the state's largest district -- which is
also operated by the state -- for failing to pay the full
back wages for teachers forced to wait out the state's
delays, said its president.
A spokesman for the New Jersey Education
Association also said delays still exist with out-of-state
candidates, as well as those in support jobs such as nurses,
counselors and social workers.
"This has been a blot on the state's
ability to attract new teachers for far too long," said
Steve Wollmer, NJEA spokesman. "We'll never know how many
talented people we lost just out of their
frustration."
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973)392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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