A California judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprive students of their right to an education under the state Constitution. The decision hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case, one that could radically alter how California teachers are hired and fired and prompt challenges to tenure laws in other states.
“Substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and/or minority students,” Judge Rolf M. Treu of Los Angeles Superior Court wrote in the ruling. “The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.”
In the ruling, Judge Treu agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that California’s current laws make it impossible to get rid of the system’s numerous low-performing and incompetent teachers; that seniority rules requiring the newest teachers to be laid off first were harmful; and that granting tenure to teachers after only two years on the job was farcical, offering far too little time for a fair assessment of their skills.
Further, Judge Treu said, the least effective teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools filled with low-income and minority students. The situation violates those students’ constitutional right to an equal education, he determined.
“All sides to this litigation agree that competent teachers are a critical, if not the most important, component of success of a child’s in-school educational experience,” Judge Treu wrote in his ruling. “There is also no dispute that there are a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently active in California classrooms.”
In Judge Treu’s 16-page decision, he broke down the rationale for his decision on each of the challenged state statutes:
Permanent Employment, commonly known as tenure: He concluded that the state’s two-year requirement to make a decision on tenure is inadequate, finding that “both students and teachers are unfairly, unnecessarily, and for no legally recognizable reason (let alone a compelling one) [are] disadvantaged” by the current law. As a result, he said he finds it unconstitutional under the state’s equal protection clause.
Dismissal: Judge Treu concluded that teachers have every right to due process in the event of a dismissal, but he said the evidence convinced him that the “current system required by the Dismissal Statutes to be so complex, time consuming and expensive as to make an effective, efficient yet fair dismissal of a grossly ineffective teacher illusory.”
Seniority, commonly known as Last in, first out: Judge Treu called this law, which requires the most recently hired teachers to be dismissed first in times of budget constraints a “lose-lose situation” that often removes quality teachers while leaving ineffective teachers in place. “The logic of this position is unfathomable and therefore constitutionally unsupportable.”
I'm in sympathy with Judge Treu's perspective. But his arguments should be made in the legislature, not the court. My shallow take is that his ruling is judicial overreach, and will be overturned.
PS - The Supreme Court in WA made an even greater power grab in support of the public school machine, deciding that the WA constitution's provision that "education is the paramount duty" of the state gave the S. Court the authority to oversee the education budget. I oppose that overreach too.
Last edited by johno on Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
The teacher's union owns the state. Use to compete against Tom Torlakson (state superintendent of schools) back in high school. He is bought and owned by them.
Flip side, I don't think their is a guarantee or right of equal education. We are ending up with gay marriage by a decree of courts discovering imaginary rights out of thin air.
All states should be right to work states, love what is happening in Wisconsin.
Again, don't want just judges calling the shots.
Personal aside: My wife teaches special ed at the middle school. They can't find people to fill those positions, not an easy job.
johno wrote:I'm in sympathy with Judge Treu's perspective. But his arguments should be made in the legislature, not the court. My shallow take is that his ruling is judicial overreach, and will be overturned.
Turdacious wrote:the least effective teachers are disproportionately assigned to schools filled with low-income and minority students.
I am skeptical that the school system knows who is or isn't an "effective" teacher. I wonder if those assigned to low income schools don't just burn out in the face of indifference and students who know their rights.
Thirty-plus years ago, I met an LA public school teacher. He was the most depressed person I had met. He said he couldn't teach anything…he was just marking time. I can't imagine how bad things are now.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
The teachers unions are adversarial to both the administration and the students and have been for some time. It is simply not in the best interest of teachers to do what is in the best interest of the students.
There are many, many great teachers out there, and they have an important and difficult job, even in the best of classrooms, but the vast majority won't say shit to the union policy.
Shafpocalypse Now wrote:The teachers unions are adversarial to both the administration and the students and have been for some time. It is simply not in the best interest of teachers to do what is in the best interest of the students.
There are many, many great teachers out there, and they have an important and difficult job, even in the best of classrooms, but the vast majority won't say shit to the union policy.
And therefore they should pay. Silence and acquiescence are sure fire ways of not just keeping the status quo, but actually making things worse. These "great teachers" are not great people and are in fact cowards if they remain silent and just get along with the union. These "great teachers" are no different than the "good cop" that sits by and says or does nothing while his fellow cops break the law and violate the rights of citizens.
The same goes for other public servants that place their union and coworkers above the interest of the public. They are cowards and just as big bunch of leeches as the shit bag teacher that can't/won't teach or the corrupt cop who believes and acts like they are above the law. They receive a pay check from the public treasury and in many cases receive very generous benefits and job security. And who do they thank or show their allegiance? The public? No, to their buddies and union.
Fuck them! Their silence and non action mark them as cowards.
Arms are the only true badge of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of the free man from the slave.
Phaedrus wrote:This may be good in the long-term but in the short run a lot of experienced teachers are going to be dumped for young and cheaper labour.
"He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." JS Mill
Phaedrus wrote:This may be good in the long-term but in the short run a lot of experienced teachers are going to be dumped for young and cheaper labour.
Good. That's the whole point. Get rid of the shitty teachers that are getting by on "experience". Any great teachers that are cut due to budget reasons should be able to migrate to the school districts that are willing to pay for talent, i.e. the affluent white areas, thus replacing the shitty tenures that are canned from those schools.
I'd much rather trust the market to allocate teacher resources than the government. Tenure is an impediment to the free flow of teaching capital.
I wonder how the teachers of California like judicial activism now.
The beast is eating its own now. (*snicker*)
Mao wrote:Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party
johno wrote:I'm in sympathy with Judge Treu's perspective. But his arguments should be made in the legislature, not the court. My shallow take is that his ruling is judicial overreach, and will be overturned.
There have been a couple of posts at the Volokh Conspiracy about this decision. At least one of the authors is happy about the result, but both point to problems with the legal reasoning.
I can't comment on the legal reasoning, but I don't think we'll see meaningful school reform as long as teachers can't be fired.
"The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all."
johno wrote:I'm in sympathy with Judge Treu's perspective. But his arguments should be made in the legislature, not the court. My shallow take is that his ruling is judicial overreach, and will be overturned.
There have been a couple of posts at the Volokh Conspiracy about this decision. At least one of the authors is happy about the result, but both point to problems with the legal reasoning.
I can't comment on the legal reasoning, but I don't think we'll see meaningful school reform as long as teachers can't be fired.
I dunno, it's a civil rights case, which is an area where courts have a lot of discretion. It seems that the whole thing going forward may center on the research and testimony of the star witness. You're probably far more familiar with Kane's research than I am.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule
