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Vergara v. California
Vergara v. California was a lawsuit in the California state courts which dealt with a child's right to education and to instruction by effective teachers. The suit was filed in May 2012 by lawyers on behalf of nine California public school student plaintiffs. It alleged that several California statutes on teacher tenure, layoffs, and dismissal violated the Constitution of California by retaining some "grossly ineffective" teachers and thus denying equal protection to students assigned to the teachers. Furthermore, according to the complaint, the statutes had a disparate impact on poor and minority students, who were more likely to be assigned to a grossly-ineffective teacher.
On June 10, 2014, after a two-month trial, Judge Rolf M. Treu of the California Superior Court ruled that all of the statutes challenged by the student plaintiffs were unconstitutional; the ruling was finalized in August 2014. On April 14, 2016, a three judge panel on the Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's decision and held that the challenged statutes did not violate the California Constitution. In May 2016, lawyers for the school students asked the California Supreme Court to reconsider the Court of Appeal reversal and reinstate the trial court's ruling in their favor. On August 22, 2016 the State's highest court declined to review the case in a 4-3 decision, thus permitting the Court of Appeal decision upholding the statutes to stand.
The lawsuit identified five separate statutes that kept ineffective teachers in the classroom. The argument by the student plaintiffs in the lawsuit was that tenure decisions had to be made too quickly, and that once tenure was granted it was too difficult to remove a teacher if a mistake had been made in granting tenure. The presence of ineffective teachers necessarily meant that some students were denied their constitutional right to a quality education. The defendants argued that it was possible to remove bad teachers and that these laws did not cause bad teachers to be in the schools.
Certain provisions of the California Education Code conferred "permanent employment" status (or tenure) on any teacher who had not been informed that his or her teaching contract had been canceled by March of the second year of teaching. Permanent status required school districts to follow specific evidentiary and procedural requirements before firing a teacher. Lawyers for teachers unions in Vergara argued that this was not equivalent to lifetime employment, but instead just recognition of the due process requirements that would have to be satisfied even if teachers were to be fired for any one of a number of specified reasons.
A series of three statutes in California specified a series of procedural requirements that had to be satisfied if a tenured teacher was to be dismissed. These requirements, the plaintiffs argued, put undue cost on districts if they wished to remove a teacher. They were also considerably beyond the normal due process rights for other civil servants in California. John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), testified that the statutes harmed students.
The final challenged statute dictates how district administrators prioritize which teachers are to be laid off if they were to reduce the size of their teaching staff. The California law required strict application of last in first out, or LIFO. With a few exceptions, before any tenured teacher could be laid off, the district had to remove all of the more junior, nontenured teachers. According to LIFO, it is impermissible to use information about teacher effectiveness in making layoff decisions.
On June 10, 2014, the court ruled that the statutes at issue produced disparities that "shock the conscience" and violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution.
As background, the court began the Vergara opinion with a discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the California Supreme Court cases of Serrano v. Priest I (1971), Serrano v. Priest II (1976), and Butt v. State of California (1992). "While these cases addressed the issue of a lack of equality of educational opportunity . . . here this Court is directly faced with issues that compel it to apply these constitutional principles to the quality of the educational experience."
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Vergara v. California
Vergara v. California was a lawsuit in the California state courts which dealt with a child's right to education and to instruction by effective teachers. The suit was filed in May 2012 by lawyers on behalf of nine California public school student plaintiffs. It alleged that several California statutes on teacher tenure, layoffs, and dismissal violated the Constitution of California by retaining some "grossly ineffective" teachers and thus denying equal protection to students assigned to the teachers. Furthermore, according to the complaint, the statutes had a disparate impact on poor and minority students, who were more likely to be assigned to a grossly-ineffective teacher.
On June 10, 2014, after a two-month trial, Judge Rolf M. Treu of the California Superior Court ruled that all of the statutes challenged by the student plaintiffs were unconstitutional; the ruling was finalized in August 2014. On April 14, 2016, a three judge panel on the Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's decision and held that the challenged statutes did not violate the California Constitution. In May 2016, lawyers for the school students asked the California Supreme Court to reconsider the Court of Appeal reversal and reinstate the trial court's ruling in their favor. On August 22, 2016 the State's highest court declined to review the case in a 4-3 decision, thus permitting the Court of Appeal decision upholding the statutes to stand.
The lawsuit identified five separate statutes that kept ineffective teachers in the classroom. The argument by the student plaintiffs in the lawsuit was that tenure decisions had to be made too quickly, and that once tenure was granted it was too difficult to remove a teacher if a mistake had been made in granting tenure. The presence of ineffective teachers necessarily meant that some students were denied their constitutional right to a quality education. The defendants argued that it was possible to remove bad teachers and that these laws did not cause bad teachers to be in the schools.
Certain provisions of the California Education Code conferred "permanent employment" status (or tenure) on any teacher who had not been informed that his or her teaching contract had been canceled by March of the second year of teaching. Permanent status required school districts to follow specific evidentiary and procedural requirements before firing a teacher. Lawyers for teachers unions in Vergara argued that this was not equivalent to lifetime employment, but instead just recognition of the due process requirements that would have to be satisfied even if teachers were to be fired for any one of a number of specified reasons.
A series of three statutes in California specified a series of procedural requirements that had to be satisfied if a tenured teacher was to be dismissed. These requirements, the plaintiffs argued, put undue cost on districts if they wished to remove a teacher. They were also considerably beyond the normal due process rights for other civil servants in California. John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), testified that the statutes harmed students.
The final challenged statute dictates how district administrators prioritize which teachers are to be laid off if they were to reduce the size of their teaching staff. The California law required strict application of last in first out, or LIFO. With a few exceptions, before any tenured teacher could be laid off, the district had to remove all of the more junior, nontenured teachers. According to LIFO, it is impermissible to use information about teacher effectiveness in making layoff decisions.
On June 10, 2014, the court ruled that the statutes at issue produced disparities that "shock the conscience" and violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution.
As background, the court began the Vergara opinion with a discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and the California Supreme Court cases of Serrano v. Priest I (1971), Serrano v. Priest II (1976), and Butt v. State of California (1992). "While these cases addressed the issue of a lack of equality of educational opportunity . . . here this Court is directly faced with issues that compel it to apply these constitutional principles to the quality of the educational experience."