State schools chief Tom Luna said, "Tenure may have been a rite of passage in the past but it now ... (has become) an obstacle to improving schools. He said he also is proposing to eliminate seniority as a criteria in teacher layoffs, meaning longtime teachers could be laid off before newer ones. "Age and longevity does not define quality teaching," he said. "If we're putting students first, we cannot allow this to continue." He said other states are looking at similar moves. He also called for tying teacher and administrator performance evaluations to student growth. "This is how we will recruit and retain great teachers in our public schools," he said. "These are the tough choices we must make for the benefit of our students."

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