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A lawsuit that could lead to a seismic shift in teacher tenure and dismissal methods is underway today in a packed Los Angeles courtroom.

LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy is expected to take the stand.

Courtroom seats are being assigned by lottery – with limited press seating available. We will do our best to update our readers as the trial unfolds.

The case, Vergara vs CA is brought by a group of students who claim they have a civil right to an education and that state law that protects teachers and pushes them into lower income areas is discriminatory. The families of the plaintiffs are in full force today in the courtroom.

The case has gotten attention in editorials: Both The LA Times (Protect good teachers, fire bad ones) and The San Jose Mercury News (Teacher tenure, seniority, due process rights will get much-needed scrutiny in court) printed pieces.

A high profile team of lawyers including Ted Olson and Ted Boutrous, who successfully argued before the Supreme Court to strike down the same sex marriage ban, will argue on behalf of the students.

Defendants include the State of California and the two largest teachers unions in the state, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT).