ASSEMBLY, No. 2790
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MARCH 13, 1997
By Assemblyman STUHLTRAGER
An Act concerning the scope of collective bargaining between public school employees and certain public employers and supplementing P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Educational enhancement subject" means a proposal involving any subject that is not a term or condition of employment as that term is defined by law, which is intended to create, enhance, improve, reform, or restructure educational opportunities, and whose implementation is not prohibited by law.
"Employer" means any local or regional school district, educational services commission, jointure commission, county special services school district, consolidated school district, vocational school district, or any board or commission under the authority of the Commissioner of Education, State Board of Education, or Commission on Higher Education.
2. An employer and the majority representative of the employees in a bargaining unit may negotiate, at the request of either party, and reach agreement concerning any subject of educational enhancement, provided that neither party shall be required to negotiate over any educational enhancement subject, and that either party may refuse to negotiate over any such subject, or terminate negotiations over any such subject, prior to reaching agreement.
3. A party may terminate or withdraw from negotiations over an educational enhancement subject at any time prior to reaching agreement. If no agreement is reached, the parties may, if both parties agree, submit any educational enhancement subject to the dispute resolution procedures adopted by the Public Employment Relations Commission, including, but not limited to, mediation and fact finding. If agreement is reached concerning an educational enhancement subject, the agreement shall be embodied in writing, and made part of the parties' collective bargaining agreement. Any such agreement shall be subject to the parties' grievance procedure, and shall be subject to binding arbitration if provided for in the parties' collective bargaining agreement.
4. Any provision made part of the parties' agreement involving an educational enhancement subject shall remain a part of that agreement until the collective bargaining agreement expires. Neither party shall be required to negotiate or reach agreement concerning that educational enhancement subject or any other educational enhancement subject upon the expiration of the parties' agreement, provided, that the parties may nevertheless negotiate and reach agreement over that educational enhancement subject or any other educational enhancement subject pursuant to this act.
5. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to restrict or limit any right established or provided by P.L.1968, c.303 (C.34:13A-5.1 et seq.); this act shall be construed as providing rights in addition to and supplementing the rights provided by that act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that public school employee representatives and their employers may negotiate over educational enhancement subjects. The bill defines educational enhancement subject as a proposal involving any subject that is not a term or condition of employment, which is intended to create, enhance, improve, reform, or restructure educational opportunities.
The bill defines employer as any local or regional school district, educational services commission, jointure commission, county special services school district, consolidated school district, vocational school district, or any board or commission under the authority of the Commissioner of Education, State Board of Education, or Commission on Higher Education.
The bill provides that no public school employee representative or employer shall be required to negotiate over educational enhancement subjects and that either party may terminate negotiations prior to reaching agreement. The bill also provides that an educational enhancement subject may be submitted to the dispute resolution procedures adopted by the Public Employee Relations Commission. When an agreement over an educational enhancement subject is reached, the bill provides that it shall be embodied in writing, that it shall become a part of the parties' collective bargaining agreement and that the agreement shall expire when the collective bargaining agreement expires. Upon the expiration of the parties' collective bargaining agreement, neither party shall be required to renegotiate or reach agreement concerning any educational enhancement subject that was made a part of the expired collective bargaining agreement.
Any agreement over an educational enhancement subject shall be subject to the grievance procedure provided for in the parties' collective bargaining agreement and shall be subject to binding arbitration if provided for in the parties' collective bargaining agreement.
This bill creates a mechanism to permit input by school employees on matters of educational policy in order to promote educational enhancement in this State. Under present law, there is no such mechanism, input is discouraged, and in some ways prohibited. Providing this type of input will serve a valuable and necessary function by enabling school districts to have the insight and suggestions of school employees who actually render services to school pupils. This bill will provide the opportunity for this input, draw on the expertise of educators and other school employees, improve employee morale by permitting this input, and at the same time will permit school districts to retain what are viewed as managerial prerogatives, if they so choose.
Provides that public school employees and certain public employers may negotiate over educational enhancement.