Education reform legislation I authored was voted down in the Senate Education Committee yesterday following an outburst of opposition from union interests that were bent on protecting the status quo. SB 355 would have allowed school districts in California to base layoffs on teacher performance rather than just teacher seniority. The measure is part of a broader, nationwide wave of school reform that will allow school districts to foster and retain quality teachers.
With our schools struggling to increase their education quality, I’m disappointed the Senate education committee chose the status quo related to which teachers we let go. Half of our state’s schools are experiencing declining enrollment. Regardless of this year’s difficult budget, layoffs are being made. The defeat of SB 355 means incompetent teachers are still given preference to better teachers because of the quality blind approach we currently use.
Union members with the California Teachers’ Association showed up in force during the committee hearing to oppose my reform efforts, and at the same time, defend the “Last in, First Out” (LIFO) hiring policy. This policy ensures that, no matter how proficient many teachers are, no matter how hard they work, no matter how well they teach, they will receive layoff notices solely based on the date they were hired.
The legislation had the support of former Senators Richard Polanco and Gloria Romero, who serve with Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), California Chamber of Commerce, Brea Chamber of Commerce, Congress of Racial Equality of California, Orange County Department of Education, school districts or Superintendents in Clovis, Newhall, Palmdale, Twin Rivers plus numerous letters of support from individuals.
The LIFO policy often results in layoff notices for our best and brightest teachers. It is not uncommon for ‘Teacher of the Year’ award winners in California to receive layoff notices under this policy. How does this approach best serve the needs of our schoolchildren?
Current law prohibits teachers being laid off by any process other than seniority. SB 355, had it passed, would have provided an alternate path, as long as school districts voluntarily established a rigorous and fair evaluation system for both teachers and principals based in part on student outcome data.
When you lay off the best and the brightest teachers in California, many don’t come back. They find other careers, because these are highly qualified people. Our students are the real losers in this unfair process.