"The Massachusetts House of Representatives appears poised to consider an overhaul of the state’s most troubled schools next week, as members take up a bill that could represent a major setback for teachers unions."
The proposed bill would give superintendents extraordinary powers to ignore teacher contract provisions in firing teachers for good cause at underperforming schools.
It would also allow superintendents to impose changes in workplace rules, such as extending the school day, at those schools if negotiations break down, key House leaders said in a telephone briefing yesterday.
Unlike a Senate version approved last month, the House bill does not establish an arbitration process for teachers to appeal those changes by superintendents.