LOS ANGELES, CA - In a major victory for teachers' unions, a state appeals court panel today overturned a Los Angeles judge's ruling that struck down California's laws granting tenure to educators.
The panel ruled that while there appear to be "drawbacks" to the state's statutes governing tenure and the firing of teachers, the plaintiffs in the case failed to prove the laws are unconstitutional. The ruling by a three-judge panel of 2nd District Court of Appeal struck down a decision made in June 2014 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu, who found students and teachers alike were "disadvantaged" by the statutes. The judge noted that teachers have a right to due process when they are being targeted for dismissal, but the current system is "so complex, time consuming and expensive as to make an effective, efficient yet fair dismissal of a grossly ineffective teacher illusory." The lawsuit, known as Vergara v. California, was filed in May 2012 by a privately funded advocacy group called Students Matter on behalf of nine young plaintiffs, alleging the laws violate students' constitutional rights to an equal education. More from Across Patch The suit named the state and two teacher unions that later intervened as defendants, the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers. The unions argued that the laws governing tenure ensure that quality teachers are in classrooms. In a hearing before the appeals court panel in February, plaintiffs attorney Ted Boutrous argued that teacher job protections result in a "dance of the lemons," in which "grossly ineffective teachers" are simply transferred from school to school. "It's impossible to dismiss these teachers," the attorney said, adding that poor teachers invariably end up in low-income and minority outposts. "The students' fundamental right to a quality education is being violated," Boutrous said, urging the panel to affirm Treu's ruling. But Deputy Attorney General Nimrod Elias argued that there is no evidence that students at some poor and minority schools are being harmed by the protections. "These laws help reduce teacher attrition," he said. "There are benefits." Elias also argued that school districts statewide attract educators who might otherwise be dissuaded by what they may consider low pay and difficult working conditions. In California, administrators must in effect decide whether to grant teachers tenure -- permanent employment -- after just 18 months. In its 36-page ruling, the appeals court panel noted that the case pointed out "deplorable staffing decisions being made by some local administrators that have a deleterious impact on poor and minority students in California's public schools." "The evidence did not show that the challenged statutes inevitable cause this impact," the court ruled. "Plaintiffs elected not to target local administrative decisions and instead opted to challenge the statutes themselves. This was a heavy burden and one plaintiffs did not carry. The trial court's judgment declaring the statutes unconstitutional, therefore, cannot be affirmed." Officials with Students Matter said they plan to appeal the ruling. City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock 0
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