Bill to create teacher tenure for small districts dies in committee
LA School Report | June 25, 2014
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Lorena Gonzalez, California Assemblywoman
A bill that sought to create teacher tenure for California’s smallest school districts died in committee today when the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, could not generate enough support for passage by the Senate Education Committee.
The bill would have required school districts with fewer than 250 students to grant tenure to teachers after three years. For now, those districts are not required to offer any tenure.
The bill had passed in the Assembly but fell one vote of approval in the Senate Education Committee last week, failing in part because it appeared to some members of the committee that it ignored the ruling in the recent Vergara v. California decision.
In Vergara, a superior court judge ruled unconstitutional California’s two-year tenure law, saying it was insufficient time to assess a teacher’s effectiveness.
The Gonzalez bill was due back today for reconsideration by the Senate committee.
Paul Ochoa, an aid to Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat, said the bill “will not move forward this year,” but he was uncertain if Gonzalez would try again next year.