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The president of the nation’s second-largest teachers union said Friday that President Barack Obama’s education chief has turned his back on the concerns of educators and parents, but she stopped short of calling for his ouster. Teachers unions have been clashing with the Obama administration over its support for charter schools and its push to use student test scores as part of teacher evaluations, a relationship that further frayed after Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke in support of a California judge’s ruling last month that struck down tenure and other job protections for the state’s public school teachers. …

LOS ANGELES — A California judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprived students of their right to an education under the State Constitution and violated their civil rights. 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...

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that tenure, seniority and other job protections for teachers have created unequal conditions in public schools and deprive poor children of the best teachers. In a case that could have national implications for the future of teacher tenure, Judge Rolf Treu sided with a Silicon Valley mogul against some of the most powerful labor unions in the country. In a 16-page ruling, in the case of Vergara v. California, Treu struck down three state laws as unconstitutional. The laws grant tenure to teachers after two years, require layoffs by seniority, and call...

Reaction from policy makers, lawmakers, and education activists to a Los Angeles judge's ruling Tuesday that five California laws governing teacher tenure, layoffs and dismissals are unconstitutional because they infringe on the right of all students to a quality public education: "It's surprising that the court, which used its bully pulpit when it came to criticizing teacher protections, did not spend one second discussing funding inequities, school segregation, high poverty or any other out-of-school or in-school factors that are proven to affect student achievement and our children." — American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. "Let's be clear: This lawsuit...

Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that key job protections for teachers in California are unconstitutional, in a major loss for unions.. The verdict represents a complete victory by attorneys who argued that state laws governing teacher layoffs, tenure and dismissals harm students by making them more likely to suffer from grossly ineffective instruction. If the preliminary ruling becomes final and is upheld, the effect will be sweeping across California and possibly the nation. Ruling "The law was on our side and the evidence was overwhelming,” said Marcellus McRae, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "Whatever happens, we can’t go...

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprive students of their constitutional right to an education, a decision that hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case that overturns several California laws that govern the way teachers are hired and fired. “Substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and/or minority students,” Judge Rolf M. Treu wrote in the ruling. “The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.” The ruling, which declared the laws governing how teachers are hired and fired in California to...

The nine student plaintiffs in the case – known as Vergara v. California - are challenging two main areas of state law: permanent employment and dismissal statutes the plaintiffs say make it difficult to get rid of bad teachers, and the seniority-based layoff system, which they say makes it hard to keep good, less-senior teachers during difficult times.

In 2011, the Michigan Legislature passed reforms that mandated that teachers could not be laid off based on seniority alone, as was the practice in union contracts. The law states that teacher effectiveness must be a factor. But at least one school district has found a way around that law. Language in the L'Anse Creuse Public Schools union contract, which was signed in March 2013 and runs through 2016, states that unless teacher evaluations meet very specific guidelines, layoffs would be based on seniority for all 599 teachers in the district. Here's how the Macomb County school district pulled it...

One of the few tenured professors to get laid off found that there is life after academia, and a more productive one at that. “Three years ago I joined an elite crowd: the tiny number of tenured faculty members terminated or ‘asked to leave’ their jobs,” Jim Garman wrote in The Chronicle Review. “Statistics describing this group are hard to find.” “A 2005 Wall Street Journal article estimated that only 50 to 75 tenured professors out of 280,000 are fired each year.” Gorman now runs an organic farm, and he interestingly contrasts academic work with, for want of a better...

There are times where someone actually takes a stand and gives me hope that we can eventually roll back the progressive liberal tide and bring sanity back to our country. One such instance is taking place in California, where nine public school students and their families are suing the state over its laws governing teacher tenure, seniority, and the last hired, first fired practice. The aim is to dismantle a system that keeps bad teachers in the classroom; a system that teachers unions fully support. The lawsuit, filed by an advocacy group called Students Matter on behalf of the students,...

Nine California public school students are suing the state over its laws on teacher tenure, seniority and other protections that the plaintiffs say keep bad educators in classrooms.

<p>Two factors have so far shielded the American university from the sort of criticism that it so freely levels against almost every other institution in American life. (1) For decades a college education has been considered the key to an ascendant middle-class existence. (2) Until recently a college degree was not tantamount to lifelong debt. In other words, American society put up with a lot of arcane things from academia, given that it offered something — a BA or BS degree — that almost everyone agreed was a ticket to personal security and an educated populace.</p>

North Carolina Republican legislators have pushed through a proposal which would revoke lifetime tenure for public school teachers. As the law stands now, after five years teachers are eligible for tenure, which ends up making it more difficult for school administrators to hire, fire and reward performance. Under the new proposal, a four year contract would be awarded to the top performers (top 25% of teachers), while others would receive one or two year contracts. The new North Carolina budget also ends a 10 percent salary increase for teachers with master’s degrees, although those who already receive the pay bump...

When the Buena Vista and Inkster school districts were dissolved because of financial troubles, State Rep. David Rutledge, D-Ypsilanti, and the Michigan Education Association said the teachers with the most seniority in the closing districts had a right to future openings in other districts. House Bill 4813 establishes procedures for dissolving financially failed school districts. It was passed by both the Michigan House and Senate and was sent to Gov. Rick Snyder for his possible signature. Rep. Rutledge offered amendments to protect the longest tenured teachers. He proposed mandating that districts had to hire teachers with the most seniority from...

All of Muskegon Public Schools' teachers will receive a layoff notice and will be called back based on their performance not their seniority, according to an article on MLive. However, the district may have a problem trying to figure out which teachers to keep because of how it has conducted its teacher evaluations. For the 2011-2012 school year, 91 percent of its teachers were rated as "effective," according to the Michigan Department of Education. There were 299 teachers rated as "effective," 19 teachers rated as "highly effective," four teachers rated as "minimally effective," and five teachers rated as "ineffective." In...

Gov. Bobby Jindal's education overhaul had another day in court Tuesday, as Baton Rouge area Judge R. Michael Caldwell upheld three sections of Act 1, all dealing with teacher tenure and salary. One final section, dealing with local superintendent involvement with school board decisions, was ruled unconstitutional because it was not closely enough related to the other aspects of the bill. Jindal called the ruling "a victory for students and teachers," and said it upheld "the core purpose of the law -- rewarding effective teachers and supporting ineffective teachers who want to improve." Under the Louisiana constitution, any bill brought...

A key education reform passed last year requires Michigan districts to consider teacher performance when making layoff, recall and placement decisions. If Proposal 2 passes, however, union contracts will likely supersede and nullify this state law. Districts will instead rely on seniority and, in some cases, random chance to determine which teachers end up in public school classrooms. Nearly all teacher union contracts require schools to only use seniority when making personnel decisions. Teaching ability is prohibited from being considered. In fact, many contracts go so far as to prefer the decision be completely arbitrary rather than have a school...

A longtime professor and one-time dean of the University of Chicago Law School told The Daily Caller that Barack Obama was never offered tenure, despite the assertions of a New York Times reporter who covers the president and the first family. “Other faculty members dreamed of tenured positions; [Obama] turned them down,” wrote Times White House Correspondent Jodi Kantor, author of “The Obamas,” in a July 30, 2008 profile of the president’s twelve years as a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. And yet, according to longtime University of Chicago law professor Richard Epstein, Obama was never actually...

College instructor, woman, in Georgia I believe. Maybe two years ago or so. Shot other faculty members at a meeting; she had shot her brother, I think, when she was younger. Originally from Massachusetts. Looking for outcome of second shooting, jail time, NAME, etc. Thanks.

After conceding that poor communication with teachers could have contributed to the unprecedented plunge in Florida students’ writing scores this year, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to lower the passing mark for the test. Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson defended the decision against critics who said it was a quick fix for bad results on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. He said changing the test’s passing score to a 3 from a 4 (out of 6) “corrected the process.” “The results still stand,” he said. Just 27 percent of fourth-graders statewide earned a 4 or better on...