NYC 21

Charles Sahm | June 11, 2014

Yesterday’s decision by California district court judge Rolf M. Treu in the education equity lawsuit Vergara v. California reads like it was written by Michelle Rhee.

The lawsuit, brought by nine California public school students, challenged five state laws that deal with the granting of teacher tenure, the removal of ineffective teachers, and the policy of using “Last In, First Out” when districts make layoffs. The judge declared all five laws in violation of the state constitution due to the fact that, as interpreted in previous cases, the state constitution guarantees “a meaningful, basically equal educational opportunity” be afforded to all students. The judge found that current laws protecting ineffective teachers “impose a real and appreciable impact on students’ fundamental right to equality of education and that they impose a disproportionate burden on poor and minority students.”

The ruling is striking for some of the strong language that Judge Treu employs. In the summary ruling he writes, “Evidence has been elicited in this trial of the specific effect of grossly ineffective teachers on students. The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience.”

The Manhattan Institute and StudentsFirstNY will hold a breakfast forum on Monday, June 16 that will discuss the new New York City teachers’ contract and one of the subjects that will surely be discussed in the wake of Vergara is whether reformers can and/or should look to the courts to remedy what many see as a rollback of some of the accountability reforms that have been put in place by the city and state in recent years.

Time will tell, but the Vergara decision could end up being a legal landmark with broad education policy implications.

Stay tuned for more.