We understand that a teacher’s job is difficult and often thankless. But so are a lot of jobs. We also understand that private labor markets are fairly efficient and don’t award workers in the private workforce nearly the same “perks” received by California’s unionized teachers. So when the State of California denies school administrators the basic rights afforded to every private employer in the State, like the ability to dismiss “grossly ineffective” employees, we have a little difficultly sympathizing with the “victorious” teachers.
Yesterday, California’s teachers won a huge “victory” that we fear will ultimately only serve to undermine the education of their students. California’s Supreme Court struck down a lawsuit filed by 9 public school students against the State of California alleging that overly generous legal protections afforded teachers directly disadvantaged students by keeping teachers in the classroom that had proven themselves to be “grossly ineffective.” The lawsuit alleged such protections violated the State’s constitution as they, by definition, created legal impediments that prevent California’s schools from providing an effective education to all of their students. The lawsuit focused on three specific teacher protections including the requirement to provide tenure after just 18 months on the job, onerous dismissal statutes that make it nearly impossible for administrators to fire a teacher for bad performance and the LIFO statutes that requires teachers be laid off in accordance with seniority rather than effectiveness. Per the lawsuit filed in 2012 (presented in its entirety at the end of this post):
Read moreCalifornia Supreme Court Decides “Grossly Ineffective” Teachers Should Keep Their Jobs