Teacher Tenure: What Is The Big Deal? Incredible California Case May Change The Future Of California Education For The Better
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 This week, Judge Rolf M. Treu, Superior Court of California, in Vergara v. State of California (2014) determined that our teacher tenure, seniority and dismissal laws ( California Education Code 4492 1(b) , 44934, 44938(b)(1) 44944, and 44955 ) are unconstitutional as they breach California students' rights to a quality education. You may be saying- ho hum who cares, so I will attempt to explain the very BIG DEAL this case is. First, I don't know about you, but since birth I have heard that teachers are measly low paid workers who barely scrape by. This urban myth is false . Teachers work approximately 9 months a year , yet get paid very favorable salaries. Per the California Department of Education " Average Salaries & Expenditures Percentage" publication , teacher salaries in 2011-2012 ranged from: $38,390-$42,865 for a beginning teacher fresh out of coll...