California Supreme Court Upholds Decision that Teacher Tenure Laws Can Remain

In a victory for teacher unions, the California Supreme Court Monday denied review of Vergara v. California, keeping in place a ruling that nullified a 2014 decision that California’s teacher protection laws were unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that the education code made incompetent teachers too hard to fire and that, in effect, minority and poor students were disproportionately taught by ineffective teachers. Monday’s ruling stated that “Administrators — not the statutes — ultimately determine where teachers within a district are assigned to teach.” We’ll discuss the court’s decision and possible next steps for groups challenging current teacher protection laws.