Breaking: California Judge Strikes Down LIFO, Tenure Protections |
posted by: Alix | June 10, 2014, 07:36 PM |
Gaining national media attention for months, Vergara v. California is considered a groundbreaking statewide education equality lawsuit sponsored by the California-based national nonprofit organization, Students Matter. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, nine California public school students, claimed the current teacher retention and dismissal system entrenches a small number of grossly ineffective teachers in the system and pushes out high-performing but less senior teachers, lowering the overall quality of the teacher workforce and denying students their right to equal access to quality education. Judge Rolf Treu agreed with the lawsuit's claim that the laws disproportionately hurt poor and minority students. He struck down all five tenure laws as unconstitutional, leaving it to the state legislature to come up with alternatives. He also agreed to an injunction, keeping the laws in place during the appeals. This decision is a step in the right direction for commonsense reform. While AAE doesn't support the outright elimination of tenure, members are embracing accountability measures like never before. Our members are in agreement that the current tenure system is not working and teachers should not be fired solely based on seniority. For example:
This decision is a chance for the state to pass tenure reforms that balance the needs of students with teachers' due process rights. Moving forward, AAE is happy to support a new system that properly honors teachers as professionals.
email to friend
Print
comment
Permalink
Comments (0)
|