Teacher Tenure Found Unconstitutional
In California, it’s all about the students for once. The Golden State is renowned for the power of its teacher unions, but things will soon change. Refusing to bow to this teacher union power, California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu found in favor of students who only asked to receive a quality education. Sean Higgins has the story in the Washington Examiner.
Judge Rolf Treu ruled in favor of nine students who sued the state, saying the tenure policies undermined their education by making it almost impossible for bad teachers to be fired.
California law allows teachers to become eligible for tenure after less than two years on the job. Firing a teacher, on the other hand, could take as long as a decade and cost the state as much as $450,000 — when it even tries. In practice, dismissals are rare.
Teachers unions defended the laws as necessary for job security, persevering academic freedom and to attract talented educators.