On Friday, a lawyer for students in an unprecedented case on teacher tenure said that the decision of an appellate court in California, which upholds protections for ineffective mentors, failed to appropriately consider the harm done to poor and minority students.
According to NOLA, a court of appeals in California reversed a lower court ruling on Thursday that threw out tenure and other labor protections for the state's public school instructors. The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the Second Appellate District Court, which dealt a blow to education reform groups that filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine students.
The group that is behind the case, known as Students Matter, vowed to appeal to the California Supreme Court. Theodore Boutrous Jr., a lawyer for the student plaintiffs, believes that they will win the final round since they are on the "right side" of the case and of history.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the California Teachers Association union said the California Supreme Court is unlikely to consider the appeal. The spokesman added that the group got a "pretty high hurdle" to successfully demonstrate that the appellate justices made a wrong decision. The District Court of Appeal acknowledged that the case did reveal problems with layoff statutes and tenure, but the state law wasn't to blame, reports US News.
Attorney Michael Rubin, a defense lawyer for the teachers' union in the lawsuit, doesn't think the Supreme Court will take up the suit, saying it broke no new ground in its analysis of constitutional principles. Bill Koski, a Stanford Law professor who oversees the school's Youth and Education Law project, added that in case the California Supreme Court takes up the case, the lawyers representing the students would face an uphill battle because the court of appeals' opinion is very sound and tightly reasoned.
Arne Duncan, the US Education Secretary, commended that ruling as a mandate to fix problems, but the decision was put on hold pending appeal. Reuters reported that the California Supreme Court is expected to make a decision this summer on whether to take the case.
The appellate court found that the evidence presented at the case underlined drawbacks to job protections for teachers.
