Putting Educators’ Professional Rights on Trial Hurts Students, Wastes Taxpayer Dollars and Time
Contact: Frank Wells, CTA, (562) 708-5425 and Fred Glass, CFT, (510) 579-3343
LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled the deeply misguided Vergara vs. State of California lawsuit may proceed to trial denying the state of California’s, California Teachers Association’s (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers’ (CFT) motion for summary judgment against it. CTA and CFT remain firmly committed to protecting learning and teaching environments, despite today’s ruling which will put on trial the professional rights of teachers. The judge said the decision to deny the request to dismiss the case in no way indicates the trial’s outcome.
“While today’s ruling against the summary judgment is not surprising, it’s disappointing as putting professional rights of teachers on trial hurts students,” said CTA President Dean E. Vogel. “This most recent shenanigan by corporate special interests and billionaires to push their education agenda on California public schools is resulting in a waste of taxpayer dollars and time – time that should be spent focusing on providing a quality education to all students as the economy improves. CTA will continue to fight to ensure we have qualified and experienced teachers in the classrooms whose rights are respected as set forth by law, and not subject to arbitrary and capricious behavior or favoritism.”
The suit challenges five Education Code statutes claiming they violate the Equal Protection clause of the California state Constitution. If there are legitimate problems with education laws, they should be addressed through the legislative process where parents, educators and all community members can be heard.
“It is deceptive and dishonest to pretend that teacher due process rights are unfair to students,” said CFT President Josh Pechthalt, parent of a ninth grade student in the LAUSD. “Students need a stable,