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UTLA membership: what will they do?
On Friday, LAUSD and UTLA finally came to tentative agreement on a new way to evaluate teachers, just days before the court-imposed December 4 deadline in Doe v. Deasy.
The initial responses were generally positive, including from the plaintiffs. “Assuming that everyone behaves in good faith, I think we’ve achieved what we’ve set out to do,” says the attorney for the unnamed plaintiffs, Scot Witlin.
So what’s next for the agreement? There’s quite a bit more that has to happen, including a couple of steps that could trip things up.
Tomorrow, the school board will, in a closed session, vote on whether or not to approve the agreement (and they are expected to approve).
Also tomorrow, the district will file a “return,” which essentially says the steps they’ve taken to satisfy the court order.
Then the union will vote whether or not to sign off. First the House of Representatives will vote on a recommendation, and then the entire membership will vote. According to the Daily News, that vote will take place in January.
At some point along the way, LAUSD will have to determine just how much of a teacher’s evaluation will derive from test scores, a number that this EdWeek blog post notes has not been specified in the agreement and has been subject of intense disagreements and negotiations in other districts.
This whole thing could unravel if the UTLA membership doesn’t like the deal.”We’d have to consider options if they don’t,” says Witlin. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get there.”