aGameOfThrones
01-26-2014, 05:41 PM
Nine California public school students are suing the state over its laws on teacher tenure, seniority and other protections that the plaintiffs say keep bad educators in classrooms.
The case that goes to trial Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court is the latest battle in a growing nationwide challenge to union-backed protections for teachers in an effort to hold them more accountable for their work. The nonjury trial is expected to wrap up in March.
"The system is dysfunctional and arbitrary due to these outdated laws that handcuff school administrators," said Theodore J. Boutrous, the lead attorney on the case sponsored by an educational reform group.
States across the nation have weakened teaching job protections, including generations-old tenure, to give administrators more flexibility to fire bad teachers.
The changes are occurring as states replace virtually automatic "satisfactory" teacher evaluations with those linked to teacher performance and base teacher layoffs on performance instead of seniority.
Teachers' unions are fighting back, arguing the changes lower morale, deny teachers due process, and unfairly target older teachers. They also say the evaluations are too dependent on standardized tests and that eliminating such protections erases a vital support system for a profession already losing talented people to higher paid private sector positions.
The California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers intervened and asked the court to throw out the lawsuit filed against the state, including the Department of Education, Gov. Jerry Brown and Superintendent of Public Education Tom Torlakson.
"It is deceptive and dishonest to pretend that teacher due process rights are unfair to students," said California Federation of Teachers President Josh Pechthalt, the parent of a ninth-grade student in the Los Angeles Unified School District. "Students need a stable, experienced teaching workforce. They won't have one if this lawsuit succeeds in gutting basic teacher rights."
Judge Rolf Treu, who will decide the case, rejected a motion to dismiss the case.
Karen Martinez, who lives in San Jose, said her daughter, Daniella, who is a plaintiff, reached the third grade unable to read before a teacher helped her.
"I'm hoping with all my heart that we win this case, so California can change a system that is clearly failing so many children," Karen Martinez said. "To me, it's common sense: appreciate and reward the teachers who are doing great, and hold accountable the teachers who are failing our kids."
http://news.yahoo.com/california-students-file-suit-nix-tenure-law-153854325.html
The case that goes to trial Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court is the latest battle in a growing nationwide challenge to union-backed protections for teachers in an effort to hold them more accountable for their work. The nonjury trial is expected to wrap up in March.
"The system is dysfunctional and arbitrary due to these outdated laws that handcuff school administrators," said Theodore J. Boutrous, the lead attorney on the case sponsored by an educational reform group.
States across the nation have weakened teaching job protections, including generations-old tenure, to give administrators more flexibility to fire bad teachers.
The changes are occurring as states replace virtually automatic "satisfactory" teacher evaluations with those linked to teacher performance and base teacher layoffs on performance instead of seniority.
Teachers' unions are fighting back, arguing the changes lower morale, deny teachers due process, and unfairly target older teachers. They also say the evaluations are too dependent on standardized tests and that eliminating such protections erases a vital support system for a profession already losing talented people to higher paid private sector positions.
The California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers intervened and asked the court to throw out the lawsuit filed against the state, including the Department of Education, Gov. Jerry Brown and Superintendent of Public Education Tom Torlakson.
"It is deceptive and dishonest to pretend that teacher due process rights are unfair to students," said California Federation of Teachers President Josh Pechthalt, the parent of a ninth-grade student in the Los Angeles Unified School District. "Students need a stable, experienced teaching workforce. They won't have one if this lawsuit succeeds in gutting basic teacher rights."
Judge Rolf Treu, who will decide the case, rejected a motion to dismiss the case.
Karen Martinez, who lives in San Jose, said her daughter, Daniella, who is a plaintiff, reached the third grade unable to read before a teacher helped her.
"I'm hoping with all my heart that we win this case, so California can change a system that is clearly failing so many children," Karen Martinez said. "To me, it's common sense: appreciate and reward the teachers who are doing great, and hold accountable the teachers who are failing our kids."
http://news.yahoo.com/california-students-file-suit-nix-tenure-law-153854325.html