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State Teachers Union Rejects Criticism of Teacher Dismissal Bill*

Alexander Russo | April 29, 2013



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Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt (via SCPR)

California Teachers Association President Dean Vogel has issued a sharp response to criticism of the proposed teacher dismissal bill being championed by Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), focusing in particular on those of former state lawmaker Gloria Romero:

“Far from jumping late onto any dismissal bandwagon, CTA has led support of efforts to expedite the dismissal process, maintain existing safeguards that remove teachers from classrooms immediately when charged with serious offenses and toughen penalties for districts and school personnel who fail to follow mandated abuse-reporting procedures. These are the facts, despite any claims from paid spokespersons for organizations founded and funded in part by outspoken, school-privatization proponents and hedge-fund managers who see dollar signs in public-school funding… We applaud California lawmakers who are moving ahead with bills that keep children safe and streamline the process for removing people who don’t belong in our classrooms, while still maintaining safeguards against false allegations.”

Romero has been joined in her criticism of the Buchanan proposal by LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, EdVoice, and others.  Later this week, amendments to the Buchanan legislation are being considered in Sacramento.

*Correction:  The original version of this post mis-identified the teacher dismissal bill’s chief sponsor as Joan Sullivan, rather than Joan Buchanan.

Previous posts:  Villaraigosa Expresses Concerns About Teacher Dismissal Bill;  Deasy Requests Changes to Teacher Dismissal Bill.

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