California students sue for better education

A lawsuit takes aim at the California Department of Education for protecting 'ineffective' teachers.

Storified by AJAMStream· Tue, Jan 07 2014 12:28:26

Highlight from Keynote Lunch with Ted Olson and Condoleezza Rice at #EIE13excelined

The case is aimed at statutes including tenure after 18 months, dismissal procedures that set significant obstacles to firing a teacher and a "first-hired, first-fired" policy that values seniority before job performance.

Another representative of the students contends the policies disproportionately affect minority and low-income communities.

In Los Angeles Unified, the country's second largest school district, African-American and Latino students are two to three times more likely to have a teacher in the bottom quartile of effectiveness than their white and Asian peers.huffingtonpost.com

One critic of the case argued the issue is more complex:

In fact, up to 90 percent of the factors that determine student performance are beyond the control of teachers.huffingtonpost.com

Many are speculating on the potential repercussions of the case, both statewide and nationally.

Relationships between local school districts and their bargaining units would be forever altered, and school districts and teachers would have to quickly find a new paradigm for hiring, evaluating, and firing staff.edsource.org

“I think any time that you see a genuine reform in California, you empower reformers everywhere in the country who realize if you can actually fix something like that in California, you can fix it anywhere,” said Ed Ring, the executive director of the California Public Policy Center.washingtontimes.com

Reactions to the case have been mixed.

Interesting that it is taking a group of students to have the courage to take on the CTA. Parents should have taken up this cause years ago.myfoxla.com

My biggest problem with teachers' unions is that they make removing bad teachers almost impossible by promoting automatic tenure, which is often abused.facebook.com

The fact is that teaching does not pay enough to attract the most talented candidates.washingtontimes.com

While I think this is a good idea, the unintended consequences of this can be serious.washingtontimes.com

Pay goes up with each year of longevity in a school district, as it should. If there were no tenure, school districts would get rid of the most experienced teachers to save money.scpr.org

Do you think the lawsuit will improve the quality of education in California if it is successful? Leave a comment below.