Ei-iE

America’s biggest teachers’ unions are voicing their opposition to a California Superior Court’s decision to strip teachers of tenure, a ruling that found the laws intended to protect educators are in fact unconstitutional.

The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have strongly criticised the court’s finding in the case of Vergara v. State of California, arguing that it is an assault on quality teaching and education.

Although the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Beatriz Vergara and eight other California students, there are allegations that it was funded by corporate special interests in an attempt to progress their school privatisation agenda. The NEA’s affiliate, the California Teachers Association, promised to appeal the finding on behalf of teachers and students.

“Let’s be clear,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel during an interview with news outlet CNN. “This lawsuit was never about helping students, but is yet another attempt by millionaires and corporate special interests to undermine the teaching profession and push their own ideological agenda on public schools and students while working to privatise public education.” Van Roekel added that the ruling will “make it harder to attract and retain quality teachers and ignores all research that shows experience is a key factor in effective teaching”.

In a statement released by the AFT, President Randi Weingarten questioned how a judge can believe in due process, but rule against the protection of teachers.

“While teachers led their classrooms, a judge in a Los Angeles courtroom said that for students to win, teachers have to lose,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “If we want every child to have a chance to thrive, we must retain and support a stable teaching force—especially in high-poverty schools. By attacking the rules that protect and support teachers, the Vergara decision destabilises public education.”

A growing problem

Since 2008, funding to public schools in California has been cut by nearly 14 per cent, according to the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities, leaving teachers without adequate resources and too-large class sizes.

And in North Carolina this May, a judge rejected the state’s attempt to repeal due process, after a group of teachers represented by the North Carolina Association of Educators filed suit against a state law passed in late 2013.

EI: Tenure needed for quality teachers and education

“EI fully supports its American colleagues in their struggle to ensure decent job tenure and working conditions,” stated EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “Tenure is there to allow teachers to focus on providing students with quality education, and not on where they are going to work and teach next. Undermining tenure alienates teachers and ignores the important role of quality teaching in providing quality education for a society’s sustainable future.”