-
Vergara lawsuit: Deasy testifies on ‘grossly ineffective’ teachers
Under cross-examination today, LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy faced pointed questions from attorneys representing California’s biggest teacher unions and the state in a controversial lawsuit that could turn the practice of teacher tenure on its head. At issue in the landmark case, Vergara vs. California, are five statutes that the nine students bringing the case...
By Mark Harris | January 28, 2014
-
‘Bad Teacher’ Lawsuit Defendants To Ask Court for a Dismissal
Lawyers in the Vergara v. California case will be back in Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow for Judge Rolf Treu to hear arguments from the defendants to dismiss the case without a trial. Again. The lawsuit, known colloquially as the “Bad Teacher” lawsuit, has been brought by Students Matter on behalf of nine California students and...
By LA School Report | December 12, 2013
-
Civic Groups Rallying Support to Keep Deasy at LA Unified*
Whatever happens inside an LA Unified board room tomorrow, support for Superintendent John Deasy is building outside of it. Education advocacy groups unified as Communities for Los Angeles Student Success today announced they are holding a rally tomorrow morning at district headquarters to encourage Deasy not to resign and to call for an end to...
By Chase Niesner | October 28, 2013
-
Unions Ask Court to Dismiss ‘Bad Teacher’ Suit
The state of California and its two biggest teachers unions are asking a state Superior Court to throw out a case about getting rid of “ineffective teachers,” saying passage of a bill now before Gov. Jerry Brown would make the lawsuit unnecessary. Lawyers for the plaintiffs responded by calling the request a “sham,” arguing that the...
By LA School Report | September 30, 2013
-
LA Unified Dropped as Defendant in Vergara Lawsuit
Via LA Daily News After a settlement agreement with the plaintiff, Los Angeles Unified was dropped as a defendant in a lawsuit that claims students’ rights to equal educational opportunities are being violated by state laws governing teacher tenure, job security and seniority. The dismissal came Wednesday in a suit filed 16 months ago by...
By LA School Report | September 20, 2013
-
Union Intervention Could Delay Tenure Lawsuit
Last week, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit Vergara v. State of California, which seeks to overturn five education laws in California (seniority-based layoffs, teacher tenure, and three dismissal statutes that make firing a teacher so onerous). “This lawsuit is baseless and...
By Hillel Aron | April 5, 2013
-
Landmark Teacher Dismissal Case Gets a Court Date
A lawsuit that challenges teacher tenure and other job protection laws written into the California State code has a court date. But it’s still a year down the road, slated for January 27, 2014. Filed on behalf of nine students by the non-profit Student Matters, Vergara v. California is taking on the state constitution. It...
By Samantha Oltman | February 22, 2013
-
Students Matter Recognizes LA School Report
LA School Report is increasingly being recognized for its coverage of critical Los Angeles education issues. The latest example is the site’s inclusion in the Students Matter newsletter for our story about SB 10, the resurrected version of SB 1530: Teacher Dismissal Bill, Redux.
By LA School Report | December 10, 2012
-
Landmark Suit Inches Forward
On Friday, the first hearing was held in Vergara v. California, a case that seeks to strike down five laws that could — for better or worse — end up being the most revolutionary education lawsuit in the history of California. “What plaintiffs are asking for is far beyond scope of what the courts have...
By Hillel Aron | November 12, 2012
-
First Hearing for Massive Lawsuit
On Friday, the first hearing will be held in the Vergara v. California, the lawsuit that, in terms of its massive size and scope, one union lawyer described “Doe v. Deasy on steroids.” Brought about by an organization called Students Matter, which is funded by wealthy tech entrepreneur David Welch, the suit takes aim at five laws in...
By Hillel Aron | November 6, 2012