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Commentary: Vergara’s dissenting justices write for history
In the long struggle to make the United States more just and perfect, court majorities have made some horrific mistakes. When that happens, the burden falls on dissents to provide hope for the future arc of the moral universe. Such dissents often come from the most distinguished jurists. Benjamin Curtis, for instance, was the first...
By Dmitri Mehlhorn | August 24, 2016
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With Vergara’s demise, heat’s on California Legislature to take up teacher tenure
In the wake of a crushing defeat for a landmark challenge to California’s teacher tenure laws, the battle for change has shifted from the courts to the state Legislature. While most parties agree that the inequities brought to light during the Vergara v. California trial must be righted, there’s a difference of opinion from those...
By Sarah Favot | August 23, 2016
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Commentary: A promising bill on teacher effectiveness is gutted in backroom deal
By Ben Austin Last month, my organization, Students Matter, issued its support of California’s AB 934 – a state bill that, though imperfect, honestly attempted to address the grave defaults in the state’s teacher tenure, dismissal and layoff laws challenged by the student plaintiffs in Vergara v. California. (A 2014 ruling in that case sided...
By Guest contributor | June 27, 2016
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Commentary: Parents want legislature to act on teacher tenure
By Jenny Hontz When LA School Report reported this week that 181 LAUSD staffers are currently being paid to sit around and do nothing while they are investigated for alleged misconduct, costing the district $15 million a year, school board members expressed surprise. The numbers are staggering, but it should be no surprise to anyone that...
By LA School Report | June 24, 2016
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Raw audio: 7 defining moments in the Vergara appeals arguments
Vergara v. California was reversed today. The landmark lawsuit sought to scuttle teacher tenure laws and “last in, first out” layoff policies, stating they disproportionately harm minority and low-income students. The plaintiffs – nine students in five California public school districts – argued that five laws governing teacher dismissal deprive them of their right to a quality...
By Mike Szymanski | April 14, 2016
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Lawsuit filed in New York takes after Vergara ruling
Via Edweek | by Stephen Sawchuck A second lawsuit challenging New York laws governing teacher tenure, layoffs, and dismissals has been filed on behalf of seven schoolchildren in the state. The suit, modeled on the successful Vergara v. California lawsuit in California, argues that those protections are depriving pupils of their constitutional right in New...
By LA School Report | July 29, 2014
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Findings of USC poll on teachers at odds with earlier survey
A Washington, D.C. polling firm has expressed disagreement with some of the findings in the PACE/USC Rossier School of Education poll that was released yesterday. The USC poll showed public opinion favored the decisions reached in Vergara v. California, striking down teacher protection laws. In a memo sent to LA School Report, Lake Research Partners said its own poll...
By LA School Report | June 27, 2014
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Commentary: Vergara decision on tenure — and our union
By Ron Taw I came to education out of the business world. Before entering the classroom, I was making my way up the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 company. But then, over 15 years ago, I realized that I wanted a job where “success and advancement” would mean changing more lives, not just earning...
By Guest contributor | June 23, 2014
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Vergara aside, CA lawmakers considering bill to expand tenure
While much of the state waits out the appeal process in Vergara v. California, one member of the California assembly is moving forward with an effort to expand tenure to teachers in smaller school districts who have no tenure at all. The state law that grants tenure after two years was one of the five...
By Michael Janofsky | June 19, 2014
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Why I’m a parent in Vergara v. California teacher lawsuit
Via Sacramento Bee | By Evelyn Alemán Macias “Maybe you’re just not good at math. Some people are good at some things, and others aren’t. Maybe math isn’t your thing.” Those were the words my child, Julia Macias, heard from her second-grade teacher at a San Fernando Valley elementary school when she struggled to learn new math...
By LA School Report | June 16, 2014