NY1 News

“Seven families across the state have filed a lawsuit challenging teacher tenure laws. Parents and teachers rallied on the steps of City Hall Monday morning. They say the law keeps ineffective and even dangerous teachers in the classroom.”

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By Jessica Glazer

Chalkbeat NY

“Soon after his twin daughters entered kindergarten, Keoni Wright started to see a difference in their academic growth. While Kaylah regularly had homework, Kyler did not—and as a result, Wright says, Kaylah is now entering second grade reading above grade level as Kyler struggles.”

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By Post Editorial Board

New York Post

“And now there are two.
Two lawsuits, that is. Each challenges New York’s teacher-tenure laws as a violation of the right to a “sound education” guaranteed in our state’s Constitution.”

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CBS New York

“NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Seven families from across New York state who want to end teacher tenure rallied at City Hall on Monday.
As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, the families are filing a lawsuit challenging teacher tenure, seniority and disciplinary rules. They say those protections are keeping ineffective teachers in the classroom.”

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By Eliza Shapiro

Capital NY

“Choking back tears, Campbell Brown announced Monday that her education reform group had formally filed a legal complaint in Albany seeking to invalidate New York’s teacher tenure laws.”

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By Leslie Brody | The Wall Street Journal

“Seven families brought together by a new advocacy group filed their anticipated suit against New York state Monday, saying that tenure and seniority protections for teachers violate students’ rights to a sound basic education.

Members of Partnership for Educational Justice, founded by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, promoted their cause on the steps of City Hall shortly after filing suit in state Supreme Court in Albany.

A spokesman at the New York state Education Department declined to comment on the suit.

The suit, and a similar one filed in Staten Island earlier this month by the New York City Parents Union, follow a landmark June decision called Vergara v. California. The Los Angeles Superior Court judge in that case struck down California’s laws on tenure, dismissal and seniority, saying they disproportionately inflicted incompetent teachers on poor and minority students.

Karen E. Magee, president of New York State United Teachers union, called Monday’s suit a “politically motivated attack” by wealthy elitists against dedicated teachers.

She said that tenure enables teachers to speak freely against budget cuts and excessive standardized testing, and it is unfair to blame tenure for academic woes when poverty, violence and underfunding of schools are among the real root causes.

Unions say that tenure helps shield teachers from vindictive bosses, nepotism and unjust dismissals. Districts in New York state typically decide whether to grant tenure after three probationary years, and in some cases seek an extra probationary year.

Monday’s suit says three years isn’t enough to decide if a teacher deserves tenure, and the legal proceedings to remove teachers are so complex, time-consuming and expensive that few bad teachers are fired. New York City Department of Education data show that in the past two school years, 23 teachers were terminated for incompetence and 17 for misconduct.

The suit says “last-in-first-out” layoff rules are misguided because they remove teachers without regard to talent. Unions say seniority protections bar districts from firing higher-paid veterans to save money.

One plaintiff, John Keoni Wright of East New York, Brooklyn, said his twin girls were both doing well until kindergarten. He said one daughter, whose teacher assigned homework daily and sent books home, is now an avid reader; the other, whose teacher was less diligent, now struggles. “If you took the job to become a teacher, you should do it,” Mr. Wright said.

The case hinges partly on research finding that teacher quality affects student success more than any other in-school factor. Jay Lefkowitz, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis who is litigating the case pro bono, said he expects to use details in teachers’ performance reviews to show how their weaknesses hurt students’ learning.

The suit’s opponents include Elzora Cleveland, a Manhattan public school parent and member of the Alliance for Quality Education, which advocates for fair school funding and gets some funding from teachers unions. She said she worried the lawsuit “is a morale-buster for teachers that are fantastic.”

Full WSJ Link: http://online.wsj.com/articles/another-lawsuit-challenges-tenure-in-new-york-1406600721

 

More on Wright v. New York: http://www.edjustice.org/projects/new-york-lawsuit/

 

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By Beth Fertig

WNYC

“Seven parents filed a lawsuit with New York State Supreme Court on Monday seeking to overturn teacher tenure laws that they said prevent their children from receiving a “sound basic education” that is guaranteed by New York State’s constitution.”

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By Leslie Brody

The Wall Street Journal

“New York City officials filed disciplinary charges against 826 educators for misconduct or incompetence over the past two years—and in at least 171 cases, teachers had to pay fines to keep their jobs.”

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By Jessica Glazer

Chalkbeat NY

“A month after announcing their plans to challenge New York’s teacher-tenure laws, a group of seven families led by the news-anchor-turned-education-activist Campbell Brown will file a complaint in state court on Monday.”

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By Ben Chapman

New York Daily News

“In a suit to be filed in Albany on Monday, seven families will charge that their children are underserved in schools due to incompetent teachers — who only kept their jobs because of tenure rules that violate the kids’ constitutional right to a sound education. The suit is backed by the politically connected journalist-turned-education advocate Campbell Brown.”

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