Landmark Lawsuit Challenges Teacher Employment Policies
UPDATED 2/25/14
The first law the students are challenging allows for teachers to receive permanent employment after 18 months of evaluation.
ORIGINAL 2/19/14
In a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, students are challenging teacher employment policies that they say protect incompetent educators.
The lawsuit Vergara vs. California, brought against the state by a group of former LAUSD students, charges that five state statutes unfairly compromise educational quality by giving blanket job security.
By giving teachers permanent employment after 16 months of evaluation, mandating a lengthy dismissal process, and calling for junior teachers to be laid off before senior ones, tenure policies actually protect ineffective teachers rather than promoting capable ones, students say.
In response, the California Teachers' Association says the laws offer educators stability, and such a secure job environment translates to achievement gains for students.
Further, teachers contend that opponents to tenure laws elevate a handful of exceptional situations rather than the typical scenario for public educators.
Testimony in the lawsuit is ongoing, and the state's teachers association is expected to argue their case during the first week of March.