Schooling in the Ownership Society: California corporate 'reformers' file suit so they can fire teachers without due process

Schooling in the Ownership Society: California corporate 'reformers' file suit so they can fire teachers without due process:

California corporate 'reformers' file suit so they can fire teachers without due process

Welch

Students Matter, a front group for corporate-style school "reformers" has filed suit in Los Angeles in an attempt to undercut statewide collective-bargaining agreements and to make it easier to fire teachers without due process.

The L.A. Times describes Students Matter as a group founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch, a research scientist who went on to co-found Infinera, a manufacturer of optical telecommunications systems based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Welch is also a founder of the New Schools Venture Fund, a powerful force behind the growth of privately-run charter schools.
The suit, Vergara v. California, provides a way for the reformers to do an end run around the State Legislature where their moves would probably meet with strong opposition from labor-friendly Democrats.

The group is partly funded by organizations known for battling teachers unions. The foundation of Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad, which has backed numerous education initiatives, also supports it.

The group hired a high-profile legal team to argue its case. It includes Boutrous, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Theodore B. Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general in the George W. Bush administration. Olson argued Bush v. Gore, over the contested