The Colorado Education Association, which represents the overwhelming majority of teachers in the state, will sue to block further implementation of SB 10-191.
That law, written by ex-TFA State Senator Michael Johnston in 2010, wiped out due process for teachers and tied evaluations of teachers and principals to student test scores. This method, called VAM, has failed wherever it was tried. Most researchers agree it is inaccurate and deeply flawed.
This is the CEA statement:
“The Colorado Education Association (CEA) has announced plans for legal and legislative action to correct what the organization calls proven flaws in the mutual consent provision of Senate Bill 10-191 that allows school districts to remove qualified teachers from the classroom. SB191 gutted Colorado’s tenure protections for teachers, and replaced them with an unproven scheme that could fire teachers for their students scores on standardized tests.
“The CEA is Colorado’s largest teachers union. Denver teachers have earlier sought an arbitrator’s opinion with Denver Public Schools, an opinion which found SB191 unconstitutional.
“SB191 contains provisions that strip teachers of their teaching licenses, and in effect, the ability to earn a wage, without due process of law.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Good for Colorado! Louisiana’s so-called Teacher Tenure law (Act 1) has been back and forth in the courts for two years– it is headed to the Louisiana Supreme Court for the second time.
Yes!!!!
Hopefully this will start a trend!
Pay attention Florida. There is more yet to fight and litigate from our SB736. When Hillsborough County fires a teacher as a result of VAM scores, they also file a complaint against the teacher with the State DOE; attempting to have their certificate revoked for “misconduct”.
Stack ranking, proven not to elevate humans to their highest potential. Microsoft pulled the plug on it, why would Colorado stick with a failed idea?
Thank you, CEA! At a time when many of my colleagues and I feel ignored by NEA, this development gives me hope. Fight hard, CEA!!!
It’s really wonderful to see more people taking action! Keep at it: Stand up, speak out, sue and vote!
http://www.thetowntalk.com/viewart/20140108/NEWS01/140108001/Louisiana-teacher-tenure-law-ruled-unconstitutional
Louisiana teacher tenure lawsuit
This is the way to go!! The Newark principals too. Hit them in the pocket. That’s all they care about, money.
You have know idea what you are talking about. It is not about the money it’s about respect and security. Everyday should not be like walking on egg shells. It is the only profession in the world in which they want tie my means of providing for my family to the performance of a child. A child that may not have had a a meal the night before or no electricity or running water. Do we go around suggesting that we fire every employee in Detroit when they make a bad car.
Exactly!
http://aspiravoces.org/post/74858048396/my-employer-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this
Interesting labor case. Charter school teachers have been trying to organize since March of 2012:
“My employer does not want you to read this. ASPIRA of Pennsylvania does not want me to have a public voice in my school, or speak out about my students’ educational needs. ASPIRA of PA has issued a NEW policy that is designed to prevent staff from using social media to communicate about our union organizing campaign and the financial decisions ASPIRA is making. ASPIRA has threatened “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment” if they are offended or embarrassed by anything I say in social media. What’s most shocking about ASPIRA’s new social media policy is that it is retroactive to 2011.”
This is “Aspira of Pennsylvania” but they’re also in Chicago and they are set to expand into NC.
It’s sort of amusing to read as a employment directive because one of the things teachers can’t write on social media is anything that would harm “the business interests” of Aspira charters. Since one of the things the teachers are calling for is an accounting of public funds, that’s obviously a problem 🙂
I’m curious about the national charter chains, as far as fungibility/transfer of ed funding. Can they take ed funds from one state or district and then transfer those funds toward expansion into another state or district?
Can Aspira PA create a reserve with PA or Philadelphia public school funding and then use that to expand in another state or district? Obviously publicly-run schools can’t do this: Philadelphia public schools can’t open a public school in Chicago or NC with Pennsylvania ed funds (just as an example).
Ha! Classic charter school bullying and anti-American values. Destroy freedom of speech and use fear and intimidation to keep the money flowing into the CEOs pockets.
I’m curious if Obama and Duncan are paying attention.
http://www.mikejohnston.org/bio/
“Before joining the Senate, Mike was an educator [TFA] and served as an education policy adviser to state and federal political campaigns around the country, most recently as a top education advisor to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and transition. He is the co-founder of New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit that recruits and trains urban principals, and serves on the boards of a number of national and local community service organizations.”
CEA is only suing over the “mutual consent” portion of SB191, not the whole law, although I fear the media will interpret it that way. Mutual consent is bad enough, and it’s really affected Denver teachers the most. Here’s the way it (doesn’t) work: Schools are closed for bad test scores, then re-opened as charters, taught by TFAs. Those regular public school teachers, through no fault of their own, are then displaced. They can’t get hired at another school unless there’s “mutual consent” between the hiring school’s administration and the teacher. You can see where this has gone. That’s why CEA is suing.
It’s tough being a teacher in the States. Lack of tenure allows administrators to get rid of a teacher for any reason. Consider the principal’s brother who might need a job or firings based on some vague personality conflicts.
How about firing a teacher because her salary was too high. I lived through that four times. My salary with a Master’s Degree and years of service meant two new teachers could be hired for the same amount of money. This was the impetus I needed to start looking for a music job overseas.
I have a friend who is a work-a-holic perfectionist. She always spoke out on what she believed was right. She got transferred to a different school and was given the worst class possible in a different grade level. She is high on the pay scale and knows they are working to make her quit. She will have to work at least three more years, just to keep her insurance. The stress of the job is causing her health problems. She has worked in this district for years. The best that can be said is that they haven’t come up with a definite ‘you’re fired’ because___________(fill in the blank). She constantly worries that this will happen.
Teachers in the future might not be a lucky as her. My friend’s district in Illinois has no tenure and teachers have been fired for bad reasons. One teacher’s daughter, an excellent new teacher, was probably fired because the mother spoke out. Both worked in the same district. The hidden straight jacket of ‘don’t express any ideas’ is not helpful. Administrators do not have all the answers. Anyone who has taught definitely knows that.
Being fired because you’re “cost too much” is very painful. I’ve been through it and still have not recovered financially.There is nothing like a 20K pay cut to make a mess out of your finances.
Students do not have to pass the Colorado state tests or get a certain score to graduate or pass. The tests have no effect on the test takers.
FINALLY!!!!!!! 💃
This case is going to be worth following and will likely be precedent setting.
This link will take you to the press release on the CEA website – http://www.coloradoea.org/center-for-data-and-technology-advancement/association-news/2014/01/29/coloradoea.org
We all know the root of the problem isn’t teachers. Can anyone turn straw into gold? Can anyone turn chicken sh!+ into chicken salad? This system is broken.
Public schools overall have been setting students up for failure for decades. Start with smaller class size, next give teachers the proper tools and resources. 30/1 ratio is NOT rational! And when can we address what SHOULD happen to them before 5 years old! Ignorant parents produce ignorant children. The issues facing teachers is incredible and overwhelming. Health problems, psychological problems, academic problems, socio-emotional problems and these are what they BRING with them, they become magnified in a public setting with 30 of their closest peers. Unprepared schools produce unprepared students. Logical deduction…ignorant and unprepared students are being unleashed on society. Teachers will never take the place of competent, compassionate, intelligent, moral parents. Anything less and our society is a failure. And so it goes…