Tax-Free Teachers?

By Larry Sand
03/21/2017
California school districts lay off teachers…then two legislators move to fix the “teacher shortage problem.” In a surreal political moment, California State Senators Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) and Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) have introduced the “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017” which offers a novel incentive for teachers to remain in the profession. Senate Bill...

TAGS: first out, Larry Sand, last in, Mike Antonucci, Rolf Treu, Santa Ana Educators Association, seniority, small class size, teachers union, Vergara

Vergara Update: Virtues and Villainy

By Larry Sand
04/19/2016
The union and media reactions to the appeals court decision in the Vergara case had me going through a whole can of room deodorizer. In 2014, the plaintiffs in the Vergara trial claimed that several California education statutes – all of which are on the books at the behest of the teachers unions – cause...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Campbell Brown, Eric Hanushek, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Rolf Treu, seniority, Students Matter, Susan Bonilla, teachers union, tenure, Vergara

Loss of LIFO

By Larry Sand
10/13/2015
If Eli Broad’s charter school plan goes forward, there will be a major shake-up in the ranks of LAUSD teachers. Philanthropist Eli Broad’s ambitious plan to create 260 new charter schools over an eight year period in Los Angeles, enrolling at least 130,000 students, will have major ramifications for many of the city’s 25,600 teachers....

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter School Association, California Federation of Teachers, charter school, Eli Broad, Larry Sand, last in first out, LIFO, Rolf Treu, seniority, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA, Vergara case

Teachers Unions Appeal Vergara

By Larry Sand
05/05/2015
… and continue to block any and every meaningful reform the California state legislature has to offer. On May Day (how fitting!) the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers filed their appeal of the Vergara decision. In that 2014 ruling, Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu struck down California’s teacher tenure, layoff and...

TAGS: Bill Lucia, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Carol Liu, Dean Vogel, Democrats for Education Reform, EdVoice, Josh Pechthalt, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Rolf Treu, Shirley Weber, Students Matter, StudentsFirst, teachers union, Vergara

Permanent Disgrace

By Larry Sand
01/27/2015
My encounters with tenure, aka permanence, aka undue process for teachers. In an article posted recently, Harvard professor and editor-in-chief of Education Next Paul Peterson asks, “Do Teachers Support the Vergara Decision?” More specifically, he discusses tenure, which is on hold in California due to Judge Rolf Treu’s ruling. The tenure statute is the part...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Dennis Van Roekel, Education Next, Eric Hanushek, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Paul Peterson, permanence, Rolf Treu, teacher jail, teachers union, tenure, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara

Vergara: What Comes Next?

By Larry Sand
01/20/2015
Assuming Judge Treu’s rulings survive the appeals process, what will replace the offending statutes? In last year’s Vergara case, Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state’s archaic seniority, tenure and dismissal statutes were unconstitutional, adding that the evidence submitted “shocks the conscience.” The judge’s ruling is now being appealed by the state of California, the...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, AB 215, American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, permanence, Randi Weingarten, Rolf Treu, seniority, Students Matter, Teach Plus, teachers union, Vergara

Life After Deasy

By Larry Sand
10/28/2014
It was only a matter of time before the Los Angeles school chief was run out of town. John Deasy is the latest to exit the fast-moving revolving door known as Los Angeles School Superintendent. The job – really an impossible one – saw Roy Romer replace Ray Cortines in 2001. Romer in turn was...

TAGS: dropouts, John Deasy, Kate Walsh, LA School Report, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Council on Teacher Quality, Parent Trigger, Rolf Treu, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara case

Bad Week for Teachers Unions

By Larry Sand
09/09/2014
These days, the teachers unions have landed on the wrong side of judges, teachers, the general public and just about everyone else whose lives they touch. Seems like the teachers unions are getting it from all sides these days. In a Wall Street Journal piece, the writers note that the percentage of elementary and secondary...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Jerry Brown, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, Michigan Education Association, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Rolf Treu, teachers unions, United Federation of Teachers, Vergara

Post-Vergara Rumblings

By Larry Sand
07/01/2014
The Vergara decision is three weeks old – and due to the teachers unions’ appeal, nothing has changed. Or has it? Because Judge Rolf Treu has placed a stay on his Vergara ruling pending the outcome of the teachers unions’ appeal, the tenure, seniority and dismissal statutes are still alive and well in California. However,...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Campbell Brown, Dennis Van Roekel, Larry Sand, last in first out, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, New York State United Teachers, Randi Weingarten, Rolf Treu, seniority, teachers union, tenure, Vergara

The Vergara Battle Has Been Won…

By Larry Sand
06/24/2014
… but the war is just beginning. Despite a landmark education decision in California favoring children over teachers unions, how much will really change? On June 10th, Judge Rolf Treu issued an unequivocal decision in the Students Matter (Vergara v California) case which revolved around the tenure, dismissal and seniority statutes in California’s education code....

TAGS: AB 215, Bill Lucia, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, EdVoice, Larry Sand, LIFO, Rolf Treu, seniority, Students Matter, teachers union, tenure, Vergara v California