RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Public school teachers and administrators are gearing up to fight a new North Carolina law that eliminates job protections and shifts toward paying teachers based on job performance.

Teachers are signing petitions, planning a walk-out and preparing legal action to fight a law passed in July that directs school districts to offer their top teachers a chance to sign four-year contracts in exchange for pay raises totaling $5,000 while gradually eliminating tenure.