WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today the Los Angeles Superior Court struck down five California state teacher tenure laws as unconstitutional. The laws were challenged on the basis that they made it very difficult for school districts to fire poor-performing teachers, and that poor performing teachers were reassigned to schools in low-income and minority neighborhoods instead of fired. The nine student plaintiffs said this relegated them to a second-tier education.
This is a win for students. The court has recognized the right of all students to benefit from the instruction of a high-quality teacher, regardless of a students race or socioeconomic status, said National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees. Research shows that teachers are the single most influential factor in the classroom for predicting future student success so it is important to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality teacher and are not stuck in failing schools. We look forward to seeing the precedent this sets in California, as well as the doors it will open for similar lawsuits to be filed in other states with tenure laws that fail to put the needs of students first.
This is the first ruling in Vergara v. State of California. The case will now be appealed to the California Supreme Court. Click here to read the ruling from Judge Rolf M. Treu.
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, all but one independent research study has found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center for Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.
# # #
