Politicians spar over education reform at the Capitol
Evelyn Macias wasn't invited to today's hearing, but she came anyway to speak up for parents.
"The parent voice is missing," she said. "The student voice is missing."
Macias' daughter Julia, who is a sophomore, is one of nine studentssuing the state of California, claiming she was getting ineffective teachers.
A Superior Court judge agreed and ruled that California's teacher tenure system was unconstitutional, although the state has appealed.
"We think it's unfair that teachers who are wonderful are oftentimes let go because they're the last ones in the system," Macias said. "And we also think it's unfair that teachers stay in the system because of seniority instead of quality."
At the hearing, Republican Assemblymember Catherine Baker of Dublin said, "That's something we need to change in California state law."
Republicans in the Assembly are pushing for reform measures requiring teachers to work three years instead of two before they can gain permanent status and evaluations on whether or not students are actually learning.
Unfortunately, those bills have never been voted on, according to Assembly Republican leader Kristin Olsen of Modesto.
"Every day that we delay passing the reforms that are so necessary, even according to the court, is another day that we are failing the children of California," Olsen said.
Yet Democrats, including Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell of Long Beach, who is a former teacher himself, pushed back at Republicans. "And really study the existing law before such grand accusations are made," he said before the Assembly Education Committee.
Teachers have a big stake in the outcome, but what is the best way to evaluate their effectiveness in the classroom is the question.
Shannon Brown, president of the San Juan Teachers Association, testified that evaluating teachers can be difficult.
"From the teacher perspective there was no quality feedback given and they wanted that," Brown said. "It depends on who your administrator is and what their prior knowledge or training or skill set is. So that bred a lot of mistrust in the system."
The fight over school reform is bitter and divisive, but both sides agree that the battle will continue well into next year.Politicians spar over education reform at the Capitol | Sacramento News - KCRA Home: