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Superior Court judge denies lawsuit that claimed teacher evaluations must include student test scores
A judge in Northern California on Monday denied the claims in a lawsuit that challenged school districts that don’t use student test scores as part of teacher evaluations. Students Matter, the nonprofit organization that filed Vergara v. California, sued 13 California school districts last year, saying those districts were not in compliance with the Stull...
By Sarah Favot | September 19, 2016
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Vergara-inspired lawsuit turns to federal courts
The attorneys involved in Vergara v. California, a landmark case that challenged teacher tenure laws, announced Tuesday they have filed a federal lawsuit in Connecticut challenging that state’s laws that they say restrict school choice options. The lawsuit comes on the heels of the California Supreme Court’s decision Monday to decline to review an appellate court...
By Sarah Favot | August 23, 2016
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Key excerpts from judges’ dissents in the Vergara ruling
The California Supreme Court today declined to review an appellate court ruling that overturned the landmark Vergara v. California teacher tenure case. Here are key excerpts from the dissenting opinions of State Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and State Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu: The nine schoolchildren who brought this action, along with the millions of children whose educational...
By Craig Clough | August 22, 2016
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As California Supreme Court mulls Vergara appeal, a case on teacher evaluations will be heard this week
As the California Supreme Court considers whether to take up an appeal of an appellate court ruling in Vergara v. California, which has been extended to Aug. 22, the advocacy group that brought the landmark case will be in a Northern California courtroom Friday for a hearing on a case involving teacher evaluations. Last year Students...
By Sarah Favot | July 26, 2016
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Teacher tenure bill defeated in committee
State lawmakers on Wednesday once again failed to amend teacher tenure laws, this time rejecting a bill that would have extended the probationary period from two to three years — even after the bill was stripped of its boldest language. The bill, AB 934, sponsored by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, was defeated 5-2, with two...
By Sarah Favot | June 29, 2016
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Just in: Vergara appeal filed to California Supreme Court
Attorneys representing the students in Vergara v. California filed a petition Tuesday to take the case to the California Supreme Court. Last month the Court of Appeal overturned a Los Angeles Supreme Court ruling in the case, which challenges teacher tenure, layoff laws and dismissal policies. “The Court of Appeal flatly got it wrong,” said Josh Lipshutz, one...
By Mike Szymanski | May 24, 2016
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Commentary: The absurd logic behind a Vergara ruling that tells parents they have no recourse
This month, a California appeals court restored the state’s teacher tenure laws, which had been ruled unconstitutional by a lower court two years ago. But the ruling was hardly a ringing endorsement of California’s approach to tenure. Here’s what’s not in dispute in the case, Vergara v. California, even after the appeals court’s decision: Thousands...
By Daniel Weisberg | April 25, 2016
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Commentary: In the fine print of the Vergara ruling, 3 key arguments that might sway CA’s Supreme Court
On Thursday, a three-judge Court of Appeal overturned a trial court’s decision in the case of Vergara v. California, upholding the state’s existing education laws in a ruling of significance for millions of public school students in the state and across the country. (Read more about the sharply divided reactions after the ruling). The real implications of Thursday’s decision, however,...
By Dmitri Mehlhorn | April 19, 2016
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Vergara reactions pour in as appeal to state Supreme Court is planned
The day after the state Court of Appeal ruled that the job protections for teachers do not predominantly harm minority students, the key players in the case said they feel confident the California Supreme Court will take up the issue. The three-judge panel reversed a landmark 2014 ruling by Superior Judge Rolf Treu, who struck...
By Mike Szymanski | April 15, 2016
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Just in: Landmark Vergara ruling is overturned
The California Court of Appeal on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that had challenged teacher tenure and declared school employment laws unconstitutional. The nine student plaintiffs intend to appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court, according to a statement from StudentsMatter, a group representing the students. The three-judge panel unanimously reversed Vergara v....
By Mike Szymanski | April 14, 2016