Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348932
34 Fall 2014 x AEA Advocate NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Deeply flawed verdict goes against research proven to enhance teacher effectiveness NEA President: California Ruling Allows Corporate Interests to Trump Students' Needs A California Superior Court judge on June 10, 2014, sided with Silicon Valley multimillionaire David Welch and his ultra-rich cronies in the meritless lawsuit of Vergara v. State of California. The lawsuit was brought by deep- pocketed corporate special interests intent on driving a corporate agenda geared toward privatizing public education and attacking educators. NEA's affiliate, the California Teachers Association (CTA), and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) intervened in the case to ensure schools can continue to attract and retain quality teachers in our classrooms and to give voice to systems that research and experience show are key factors in effective teaching. "Just like the meritless lawsuit of Vergara v. State of California, the ruling by Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu is deeply flawed," says NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "Today's ruling would make it harder to attract and retain quality teachers in our classrooms and ignores all research that shows experience is a key factor in effective teaching. The National Education Association supports the California Teachers Association in its appeal of today's decision. "Let's be clear: This lawsuit was never about helping students, but is yet another attempt by millionaires and corporate special interests to undermine the teaching profession and push their own ideological agenda on public schools and students while working to privatize public education. Research shows experience enhances teacher effectiveness and increases student productivity at all grade levels, and that ultimately contributes to better outcomes for students. Yet, today's ruling hurts students and serves only to undermine the ability of school districts to recruit and retain high quality teachers. "NEA will continue to stand up for students and focus on the ingredients that are proven to help students the most—like supporting new teachers, providing ongoing training, paying teachers a decent salary, and developing reliable evaluation systems to measure teacher effectiveness." What You Need to Know: • From the beginning, this lawsuit has highlighted the wrong problems, proposed the wrong solutions, and followed the wrong process. This lawsuit was not about helping students, but yet another attempt by millionaires and corporate special interests to undermine the teaching profession and push their agenda on California public schools and students. • CTA, CFT and its education partners will appeal this disappointing decision, while they continue to proceed with providing all our students a quality education. There is nothing unconstitutional about these laws and the plaintiffs clearly failed to show harm to any student. Testimony and research actually showed that experience enhances teacher effectiveness and increases student productivity at all grade levels, and that all three of the issues in this case contribute to better outcomes for students. • Circumventing the legislative process to strip teachers of their due process rights will not improve student learning, will make it harder to attract and retain quality teachers in our classrooms, and ignores all the research that shows experience is a key factor in effective teaching. • California's probationary law gives a school administrator two years to determine if a teacher is effective or not. During those first two years a teacher can be fired for no reason at all. Prolonging the probationary period would not benefit students, and would have