Berkeley Heights Teachers Union Challenges BOE on Grading Standards

According to new documents obtained by NJ21st, the Berkeley Heights Education Association (Teachers Union) filed a revised Unfair Labor Practice Charge connected to  grading policy recently voted on by the BOE which indicated that the union did not receive feedback on its request to bargain.

This development follows a prior labor dispute we reported on involving the same policy that ended up being dismissed by the Public Employment Relations Commission.

As we previously reported, the BHEA argued (in its November letter to the Board) that parts of the proposed grading policy would directly affect terms and conditions of employment.

The purpose of the policy was to lend uniformity and alignment to academic standards and included the following changes to 2624…

“The Board, therefore, directs the instructional program of this school district to include a system of grading that measures progress toward the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and the educational goals of the district.”

“The administration shall enforce consistency in grading practices in the Middle School and High School departments, including but not limited to test corrections, number of assignments, timeliness of grades, and consistent weighting and/or point value.”

Changes to this policy came as parents, students and BOE members have publicly raised concerns about inconsistent grading practices and other academic issues, including proficiency scores in math and science.

Update:
The BHEA provided the following response:

“Hi John,

As this is an ongoing legal matter the BHEA has no comment.

Have a good weekend”

For more context on this issue, see: Berkeley Heights Grading Policy Dispute Ends as Labor Complaint Is Dismissed