The New York Times (8/31, Nagourney, Subscription Publication) reports California’s Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala D. Harris have appealed a judge’s “sweeping ruling” against teachers’ tenure laws for depriving “students of their constitutional rights,” stating the decision belonged to the authority of appellate review. A lawyer for Students Matter, Theodore J Boutrous Jr., criticized the appeal for defending “harmful and irrational laws.” The ruling was “strongly welcomed” by Education Secretary Arne Duncan as well as California Republicans, including Brown’s gubernatorial competition this fall.

The AP (8/30) also carries the story.