This document provides an update on legal developments affecting negotiations between school boards and school district employees in New Jersey and discusses trends in union and board proposals and tactics. In the opening section, the available literature on bargaining is briefly reviewed. Section 2 defines the scope of negotiations for New Jersey's public sector and lists both mandatory and illegal topics. Section 3 addresses the question of bargaining with principals and supervisors; section 4 offers a lengthy analysis of the New Jersey Principal and Supervisors Association's Model Agreement for Supervisory Personnel. Sections 5 through 10 cover the following areas: the sixth teaching period clause; a board policy on negotiations; the many dimensions of the merit pay issue; negotiating salary guides; collective bargaining and educational excellence; and decisions affecting negotiations. Section 11 contains a selected bibliography. The twelfth and final section--an article-by-article New Jersey School Boards Association analysis of the New Jersey Education Association's sample agreement for 1984-85--comprises over half the document. The agreement's 34 articles cover a wide range of issues, including grievance procedures, salaries, classroom control and discipline, and personal and academic freedom. (JBM)