SCTA Wins Court Case Against Superintendent’s Priority Schools
SCTA has been litigating a claim against the district for illegal rehires at Priority Schools for the 2011/12 School Year. The court agreed that the District can't apply subjective and changed criteria to post-layoff rehiring for its Priority Schools, and shouldn't have hired/rehired whoever the Priority School Principals decided they wanted, based on differing and arbitrary standards. In the ruling (SCTA v. SCUSD), Judge Sumner found that the District abused its discretion when it tried to apply a categorical exemption for Priority School hiring/rehiring and deviated from seniority in filling at least 58 positions at Priority schools for the 2011/12 school year. The District did not show that individual laid-off teachers with greater seniority were not competent or that they lacked special training and experience for the positions. The judge has remanded the case to the District for the next stage - figuring out which of the laid-off senior teachers suffered loss of rehire, benefits, etc. This is a BIG WIN for SCTA and our teachers in its battle against Superintendent Raymond’s anti-contract agenda. We will keep you informed as the case progresses.
Sacramento teachers’ union sues to preserve seniority rights in teacher layoffs
According to a Sacramento Bee report in Education Week, the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) has filed a lawsuit over teacher seniority rights in rehiring after layoffs. SCTA’s lawsuit comes months after the union fought the district’s decision to invoke a seldom-used provision in the California Education Code in order to preserve teachers’ positions at six persistently low-performing schools. The result of the civil lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court could have implications on a growing movement by some of the largest California districts. More and more districts are deviating from purely seniority-based layoffs and the ensuing rehiring process.
“We just want to see everyone treated equally instead of some getting special treatment,” said SCTA President Scott Smith. “Basically, we are saying the way in which they skipped teachers [for layoff] was incorrect.”
Lawyers for Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) say the case, which was filed in November 2011, should be dismissed because it is “utterly lacking in key details such as naming any teacher or counselor who was laid off and refused reemployment in violation of the Education Code,” according to court filings. California law requires that, in a time of budget-based layoffs, teachers with the least experience in a school district are the first to go. The
