Steinberg Unveils Legislation to Prevent Disproportionate Teacher Layoffs, Protect Students' Rights
California Political Desk
June 15, 2010
(SACRAMENTO) – Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) unveiled legislation to protect students´ right to a quality education by preventing wildly disproportionate teacher layoffs and also improve the balance of teacher experience at California schools.
"Providing a quality education to our children is not only essential to California´s economic future, it is also our constitutional duty," Steinberg said. "Our kids need a consistent and quality teacher in the classroom in order to have the opportunity to learn and achieve their educational dreams. My measure will ensure that even in tough budget times, our children are guaranteed the stable educational environment they need to succeed."
Steinberg´s legislation follows a recent court decision blocking the Los Angeles Unified School District from laying-off wildly disproportionate numbers of teachers at three middle schools. Because state law requires districts to lay off their least senior teachers first, these three schools with mostly junior teachers faced losses of as much as 60 percent of their faculty, compared to 15 percent or less at many district middle schools in the area.
This same scenario occurs throughout California, especially in high poverty areas, every year. In the Sacramento City Unified School District, for example, 28 schools had no teachers laid off this spring. Nine schools, by contrast, sent final layoff notices to more than 15 percent of their teachers, and three schools lost more than 30 percent.
Steinberg´s legislation fixes this recurring problem of inequity in the current system of determining teacher lay-offs and in doing so would make struggling schools a more appealing assignment for teachers. The measure ensures that schools throughout California have an equal balance of teacher experience, prevents disproportionate layoffs at the lowest performing schools, and codifies the state´s commitment to provide financial and professional support that teachers need to do their job. Specifically,
"Providing a quality education to our children is not only essential to California´s economic future, it is also our constitutional duty," Steinberg said. "Our kids need a consistent and quality teacher in the classroom in order to have the opportunity to learn and achieve their educational dreams. My measure will ensure that even in tough budget times, our children are guaranteed the stable educational environment they need to succeed."
Steinberg´s legislation follows a recent court decision blocking the Los Angeles Unified School District from laying-off wildly disproportionate numbers of teachers at three middle schools. Because state law requires districts to lay off their least senior teachers first, these three schools with mostly junior teachers faced losses of as much as 60 percent of their faculty, compared to 15 percent or less at many district middle schools in the area.
This same scenario occurs throughout California, especially in high poverty areas, every year. In the Sacramento City Unified School District, for example, 28 schools had no teachers laid off this spring. Nine schools, by contrast, sent final layoff notices to more than 15 percent of their teachers, and three schools lost more than 30 percent.
Steinberg´s legislation fixes this recurring problem of inequity in the current system of determining teacher lay-offs and in doing so would make struggling schools a more appealing assignment for teachers. The measure ensures that schools throughout California have an equal balance of teacher experience, prevents disproportionate layoffs at the lowest performing schools, and codifies the state´s commitment to provide financial and professional support that teachers need to do their job. Specifically,