NEW YORK, NY June 17, 2005 —An arbiter has ruled city teachers who work during summer school may be hired based on their experience, not seniority. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

The decision marks a win for the city. The teachers union had filed a grievance last year when the Education Department bypassed traditional seniority rules during summer school.

The city argued that last year's program marked a departure because it was geared toward struggling second graders and third graders in danger of being held back. And it wanted to hire teachers more experienced with intervention strategies.

The decision comes just as the city is gearing up for a bigger summer program that will also include fifth graders who failed their exams. Chancellor Joel Klein said the decision that seniority should not trump qualifications should be true in all cases, including regular teaching positions.