TRENTON -- In a rare rejection of a Gov. Chris Christie proposal, the state Board of Education on Wednesday shot down his controversial plan to experiment with lower certification standards for charter school teachers and principals.
The board voted 5-2 with one abstention to remove Christie's proposed five-year pilot program from his promised charter school deregulation package.
The remainder of the package, which includes a faster renewal process for high-performing charter schools and other changes, gained preliminary board approval.
After the meeting, several members of the appointed board struggled to recall the last time it rejected any component of Christie's education policy.
"I don't remember ever doing it," said Joseph Fisicaro, appointed by Christie in 2011.
The rebuke was a reflection of the plan, not Christie's status as an outgoing governor, said board member Edithe Fulton, first appointed in 2007 and later reappointed by Christie.
"There was nothing as controversial as what we dealt with today," Fulton, a former president of the state's largest teachers union, said. "The proposal is not legitimate."
The New Jersey Charter Schools Association called the vote a missed opportunity for helping students.
"This move eliminates the opportunity for public charter school students to learn from highly skilled professionals with unique skillsets," the organization said in a statement.
Christie, a school choice advocate who said charter schools are "salvation for families," pledged last year to give them greater flexibility in hiring staff.
His pilot program would have allowed a group of the state's highest performing charter schools to hire teachers without traditional teaching licenses as long as they had a four-year college degree and proved they had "mastered" a subject.
Potential charter school teachers would have been able to select from a menu of four choices to prove they are qualified to teach: Demonstrate relevant experience to teach; pass a basic skills test; pass a content test; or provide evidence of a 3.0 GPA in college.
Candidates would have needed to satisfy at least two of the four options to be able to teach in a charter school, according to the proposal.
Requirements for charter school principals and business administrators also would have been relaxed under the plan, which state officials said would help charter schools find employees who possess the necessary skills but lack the required credentials.
However, the plan drew concern from state board members from the beginning and was criticized again on Wednesday. Board members said the state didn't prove why the pilot program was necessary or how it would track its effectiveness.
New Jersey in 2013 already gave charter schools more freedom to hire second-career teachers and train them on the job, but it hasn't demonstrated how that decision benefitted students, board President Mark Biedron said.
Biedron, appointed by Christie in 2011, voted against the proposal after months of discussions with education groups, he said.
"Out in the education community, I couldn't find anybody who thought this was a good idea other than, and I understand, the charter school organizations," Biedron said.
The board remains open to discussing any barriers that are preventing people from becoming teachers and how to best address those issues, Biedron said.
State board member Andrew Mulvihill, who cast one of the two votes in favor of the proposal, said charter schools with a history of success should be given the opportunity to experiment.
"Let's take a chance and back these guys up with what they want to do," he said. "It makes sense."
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.