Despite Court Ruling, California Bill Would Expand Tenure Protections

 

Reuters (6/19, Bernstein) reports that California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has introduced a bill to expand tenure protections from the state’s public school teachers to other employees. The move comes despite a court ruling by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge last week that found that found that the tenure system was unconstitutional, as it is primarily meant to protect teachers’ jobs, and harmed students’ interests. The state has not decided if it will appeal that ruling.

        In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (6/19, Subscription Publication), New York University education professor Pedro Noguera notes the California court ruling, but argues that schools are not failing students because a few bad teachers are protected by the tenure system. He argues that tenure in fact aids many poor, urban school districts, because it allows them to retain teachers who would otherwise be unlikely to stay.