Weeks of Testimony Demonstrate Empty Premises of ‘Vergara v. State of California’ Suit as Closing Arguments Wrap Up Trial
For CFT: Fred Glass 510-579-3343
For CTA: Frank Wells 562-708-5425
For CTA: Frank Wells 562-708-5425
Students stand to win or lose based on Judge’s decision
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| LA School Report |
LOS ANGELES — Arguments in the misguided, two-month-long Vergara v. State of California trial challenging due process rights for teachers will come to a close today. Educators and attorneys speaking at a morning news conference in front of the Los Angeles Superior Court said that the costly trial clearly showed that these laws provide important support not simply for teachers, but for students and quality public education. They also told reporters that the premises of the lawsuit were false, and the plaintiffs had utterly failed to make a convincing case.
Speakers at the press conference included Jim Finberg, attorney for CFT and CTA; Joshua Pechthalt, California Federation of Teachers President; Dean E. Vogel, California Teachers Association President; Gloria Martinez, a special education and National Board Certified teacher at Rowan Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles Unified School District; Erika Jones, a kindergarten teacher at Angeles Mesa Elementary in LAUSD; Casey Carlson, a special education high school teacher from Santa Cruz Unified School District; and Jeff Seymour, former superintendent of the El Monte City School District, and a defense witness in the trial.
Jim Finberg, attorney for CFT and CTA, said, “The evidence has established that the tenure, dismissal, and reverse seniority layoff provisions serve important interests. They help school districts recruit and retain qualified teachers, which is critical to student learning. Plaintiffs present a false dichotomy. They assert that one has to choose between teacher rights and student learning. In fact, the interests of