Like a time bomb, the court decision in Vergara v. California has been mostly dormant since the last election season ended in November. But its explosive potential remains as large as ever.
Vergara, to refresh memories, is the ruling by a previously obscure Los Angeles Superior Court judge that would throw out California’s teacher tenure system and end rules making it harder and more expensive to fire teachers than other public employees.
This became one of many areas of disagreement in last fall’s politics, with Democratic Gov. Brown opposing and appealing the decision by Judge Rolf M. Treu and Republican rival Neel Kashkari strongly endorsing it.
It was even more of an issue in the much tighter race for state schools superintendent. Incumbent and eventual winner Tom Torlakson insisted while “no teacher is perfect, only a very few are not worthy of the job. School districts always have had the power to dismiss those who do not measure up.”
Challenger Marshall Tuck, former chief of a large charter schools company, responded that “kids should not have to sue to get a quality education.” He decried the fact that teachers, who can get tenure after two years on the job, often are assured they’ll win that status within only 16 months of starting work, in his view not nearly long enough for them to prove they are worthy of a lifetime sinecure.
After the bombast of the campaign season, the controversy over Vergara – which can’t be acted on until and unless it survives all legal appeals – disappeared for six months, until state legislators took notice.
In late spring, Republican lawmakers submitted several bills to short-circuit the court process by simply adopting most of Vergara’s basics as law. One proposal declared seniority no longer could be the sole factor determining who is laid off when times get tough.
Sponsoring Assemblywoman Catherine Baker of Dublin said using experience alone “constrains school districts from making decisions that are in the best interest of students and fair to teachers.”
Another measure from Assemblyman Rocky Chavez of Oceanside, now a Republican candidate for U.S. senator, would have added a year to the time a teacher needs to work before getting tenure. It would have allowed districts to revoke tenure from teachers who repeatedly get negative performance reviews.
A third bill aimed to base teacher performance ratings in part on how students perform on standardized tests.
Pro-Teacher Arguments
Democratic critics, many of whose campaigns are union-funded, claimed these changes would “crumble the central pillar of teacher job security.” They charged the changes would deprive teachers of due process.
Since Democrats enjoy strong majorities in both legislative houses, these bills had little chance. They are not likely to be seen again until after the next statewide election, at the earliest.
This means the Vergara case, filed by nine students whose lawyers contended state firing and tenure rules deprive them of the Constitutional right to a solid education, will see its issues resolved by judges, not politicians.
Appeals by Gov. Brown and Mr. Torlakson are active, and the state’s two largest teacher unions joined them in May, claiming Vergara “never was about students.” Said California Teachers Assn. President Dean Vogel, “During two months of trial, (the students’) attorneys failed to produce a single pupil who had ever been harmed by these (existing) laws, while teachers, principals, school board members, superintendents and nationally recognized policy experts offered dozens of examples of how these laws have helped…millions of California students.”
One essential claim of Vergara opponents is that easing tenure rules could render teachers subject to political threats. Said 15-year kindergarten teacher Erin Rosselli, teacher of the year from Orange County: “These laws ensure I won’t be fired or laid off for arbitrary reasons or in retribution for standing up for kids…”
Lines are hard and resolute on both sides of the tenure/firing issue. Because most current state appellate judges were appointed by Democratic governors, it’s likely the Vergara time bomb will be defused long before its intended explosive effect is ever felt.
Mr. Elias may be contacted at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
