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发帖数: 29846 | 1 California Teacher Job Protections Struck Down in Students' Suit
Court Finds State Laws on Teacher Dismissal 'Unconstitutional'
By
Erica E. Phillips
Updated June 10, 2014 3:01 p.m. ET
LOS ANGELES—In a closely watched court case that challenged California's
strong teacher employment protections, a group of nine students have
prevailed against the state and its two largest teachers' unions.
A California Superior Court on Tuesday found that all the state laws
challenged in the case were unconstitutional. The verdict could fuel similar
lawsuits in other states where legislative efforts have failed to ease
rules for the dismissal of teachers considered ineffective.
The student plaintiffs in Vergara v. California argued that the statutes
protecting teachers' jobs serve more often to keep poor instructors in the
schools—hurting students' chances to succeed.
Citing the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling,
Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu wrote in his decision that the laws in
the case "impose a real and appreciable impact on the students' fundamental
right to equality of education." The decision also agreed with the
plaintiffs' arguments that the poorest teachers tend to end up in
economically underprivileged schools and "impose a disproportionate burden
on poor and minority students."
The teachers' unions said state laws didn't preclude school districts from
making their own hiring and firing decisions.
Among the laws challenged in the case was California's "Last-In, First-Out"
layoff statute, which requires layoffs based on seniority rather than
classroom performance. Also challenged were complex dismissal statutes for
ineffective teachers that plaintiffs described as costly, burdensome and
involving "a borderline infinite number of steps."
"This is going to shake things up and change things in a big way," Ted
Boutrous, a lawyer representing the student plaintiffs, said Tuesday. "It
will usher in a new day in terms of educational equality and protecting the
rights of students and teachers."
The California Teachers Association and the American Federation of Teachers
didn't immediately comment on the verdict. A spokesman for California Gov.
Jerry Brown declined to comment on the ruling.
Research has pointed to teacher quality as the biggest in-school determinant
for student performance. In recent years, many states have moved to
simplify dismissal procedures for ineffective teachers and to encourage
districts to consider teacher performance in layoff decisions rather than
relying solely on seniority.
Efforts in California failed in the legislature, so students and their
advocates took the case to court—a novel way to test the long-standing
state policies. The trial, which ran for more than 30 days, concluded in
late March.
California school districts employ roughly 280,000 full-time equivalent
teachers, and the average annual teacher's salary is just under $70,000. | y**********g
发帖数: 2728 | 2 好，大学的tenure应该取消，让学生评议。
麻痹的学生不喜欢的叫兽滚出学校！ |
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