A judge declared CA's teacher tenure system unconstitutional today.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A court ruling today in Los Angeles could have national implications, when it comes to job protections for schoolteachers.
A judge ruled that tenure and other protections for California's public school teachers are unconstitutional. According to the judge, the system discriminates against minority and low-income students, by placing ineffective teachers in their schools.
The judge sided with nine students who brought the lawsuit. He ruled that California's laws on hiring and firing in schools have resulted in "a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently active in California classrooms." And he said a disproportionate share of those teachers ended up in schools that have mostly minority and low-income students.
The California Teachers Association, the state's biggest teachers union, is vowing an appeal.
Teachers have long argued that tenure prevents administrators from firing teachers on a whim. They also contend that the system preserves academic freedom, and helps attract talented teachers to a profession that doesn't pay well.
Other states have been paying close attention to how the case plays out in California.
http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/06/10/teacher-tenure-update.html
......
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy testified during the trial that it can take over two years on average to fire a tenured incompetent teacher and sometimes as long as 10. The cost of doing so, he said, can run anywhere from $250,000 to $450,000.
Treu heard two months of testimony for and against the lawsuit filed by students who claim that they are being deprived of a good education. The plaintiffs say that the state's teacher tenure system, which allows only two years for evaluation before a teacher is hired permanently, does not provide sufficient time to weigh a teacher's effectiveness.
..........
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/10/california-judge-ruling-could-be-game-changer-for-teacher-tenure-programs/
.......
Raylene Monterroza said she fell behind in reading. She said, "I've had teachers that will not show up to class, and when they do show up, they sit in the corner, not doing anything. They don't teach."
In Los Angeles, teachers can secure tenure after only 16 months in the classroom, CBS News' Bill Whitaker reports.
Michelle Rhee ended teacher tenure when she ran Washington, D.C.,'s public schools. She called this California lawsuit a civil rights issue. She said, "Those kinds of laws have led to a situation where poor and minority children in the state are disproportionately impacted, meaning they are saddled with some of the lowest-performing teachers in the state."
..........
The students' lawsuit is funded by Silicon Valley millionaires seeking an overhaul of public education.
...........
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-teacher-tenure-laws-targeted-by-students-in-lawsuit/ |
