Lawsuit takes on California teachers’ job protections
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times
Local school districts, state legislators and even a California governor have tried to limit teachers’ job protections, among the most generous in the country. Efforts have all failed to rid public schools of ineffective teachers by making it easier to fire them and tougher for them to gain tenure and by stripping them of seniority rights.
Now proponents are taking their fight to another venue: the courtroom. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge will hear arguments this week over the constitutionality of laws that govern California’s teacher tenure rules, seniority policies and the dismissal process — an overhaul of which could upend controversial job security for instructors.
The lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit, advocacy group Students Matter, contends that these education laws are a violation of the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee because they do not ensure that all students have access to an adequate education.