LA settles case on seniority-based layoffs

Some GREAT news from California, where an ACLU lawsuit against that state and LAUSD was just settled.  Here's what I wrote in March about this (http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/03/massive-teacher-layoffs-at-three-lausd.html):

 

Three cheers to the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit against the State of California and LAUSD, alleging (correctly) that seniority-based layoff policies completely screw low-income and minority students (because their schools tend to have far more teachers with little seniority).

 

And an update in May (http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/05/la-unified-barred-from-budgetary.html);

 

STOP THE PRESSES!  Along with Race to the Top and the upcoming battle over the renewal of NCLB/ESEA, the biggest education story of the year is teacher layoffs – in particular, HOW the layoffs are done.  Doing them solely by seniority is a crime of the highest order against children (especially low-income, minority children), taking many effective teachers away from them and replacing them with ineffective teachers.  (This isn't to say less experienced teachers are better than more experienced ones – in fact, experience matters, especially in the first few years – but I AM saying that seniority is an extremely crude tool and the inevitable result of layoffs strictly by seniority is keeping many lousy teachers and firing many superstars – many states' Teachers of the Year have been (or are about to be) laid off). 

 

Here's an excerpt from the press release (below):

 

The approved settlement will fully protect up to 45 Targeted Schools in the event of layoffs. The Targeted Schools include 25 underperforming and difficult-to-staff schools that have suffered from staff retention issues and that have demonstrated growth over time based upon several measures of school-wide teacher performance and overall academic growth. In addition, up to 20 new schools will be selected based on the likelihood that the school will be negatively and disproportionately affected by teacher turnover. The schools that make up the Targeted Schools will vary over time based on retention and performance data. This settlement also protects schools throughout the LAUSD by ensuring that no school is impacted by layoffs at a rate greater than the District average.

"This settlement agreement is historic in so many ways," said LAUSD Deputy Superintendent John Deasy.  "We have assured the rights of youth, especially our most vulnerable youth and have limited the impact of RIFs across our entire school system. Further we are now beginning the long needed reform to our antiquated approach to dealing with critical budget reductions. It is my hope that we will not need to implement these reforms because California will honor is basic obligation to fund schools better than prisons."

The agreement also includes a number of other reform-minded components directed at the targeted schools, with the aim of retaining teachers in schools that traditionally have high teacher turnover to improve the overall growth and success on those campuses.  The settlement implements an intervention program for targeted schools that includes teacher effectiveness provisions, a collaborative effort to fill teacher vacancies as quickly as possible (including those that occur mid-year), retention incentives — including financial bonuses — for teachers who remain at a targeted school beyond a certain number of years, plus further incentives if that school experiences growth as measured by the school's value-added score.  Similar incentives are structured for principal retention.

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MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA RELEASES TERMS OF LANDMARK SETTLEMENT ENDING SENIORITY-BASED TEACHER LAYOFFS IN NATION'S SECOND-LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT

MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY--EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:00AM PDT
October 7, 2010

Contact:
Arielle Goren
(213) 978-0741


MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA RELEASES TERMS OF LANDMARK SETTLEMENT ENDING SENIORITY-BASED TEACHER LAYOFFS IN NATION'S SECOND-LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT

Mayor Joined by LAUSD, ACLU and Public Counsel to Discuss Details of Settlement Addressing Major Inequalities Affecting Low-Income Students

Settlement Terms Include Full Layoff Protections at Targeted Schools and Retention Incentives for Teachers Bases on Value-Added Measures


LOS ANGELES — Mayor Villaraigosa was joined today by LAUSD Deputy Superintendent John Deasy, Board Member Yolie Flores, lawyers from the ACLU-SC, Public Counsel, and Morrison & Foerster, LLP, as well as teachers from Gompers Middle School to discuss the details of the settlement agreement in Reed v. State of California, et al., a class action suit that claimed the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to a quality education was being violated by the disproportionate impact of teacher layoff at their schools.  The Mayor's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools brought this problem to the attention of the ACLU-SC and Public Counsel, who assembled a legal team and filed suit on behalf on the affected students and their families.

"I created the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools not only to turn around our District's lowest-performing schools, but also to be a catalyst for system-wide change," said Mayor Villaraigosa.  "When I saw our most vulnerable schools in our most impoverished communities losing up to two-thirds of their teachers, I knew that I had to stand up and fight.  Today, we can claim a civil rights victory and it's a victory that resonates across the country.  This settlement is proof that we are willing to acknowledge problems and tackle them head on.  This is about fairness and equality, and when it comes to guaranteeing that for our children, I am ready to use whatever means necessary.  Our future depends on it."

The approved settlement will fully protect up to 45 Targeted Schools in the event of layoffs. The Targeted Schools include 25 underperforming and difficult-to-staff schools that have suffered from staff retention issues and that have demonstrated growth over time based upon several measures of school-wide teacher performance and overall academic growth. In addition, up to 20 new schools will be selected based on the likelihood that the school will be negatively and disproportionately affected by teacher turnover. The schools that make up the Targeted Schools will vary over time based on retention and performance data. This settlement also protects schools throughout the LAUSD by ensuring that no school is impacted by layoffs at a rate greater than the District average.

"This settlement agreement is historic in so many ways," said LAUSD Deputy Superintendent John Deasy.  "We have assured the rights of youth, especially our most vulnerable youth and have limited the impact of RIFs across our entire school system. Further we are now beginning the long needed reform to our antiquated approach to dealing with critical budget reductions. It is my hope that we will not need to implement these reforms because California will honor is basic obligation to fund schools better than prisons."

The agreement also includes a number of other reform-minded components directed at the targeted schools, with the aim of retaining teachers in schools that traditionally have high teacher turnover to improve the overall growth and success on those campuses.  The settlement implements an intervention program for targeted schools that includes teacher effectiveness provisions, a collaborative effort to fill teacher vacancies as quickly as possible (including those that occur mid-year), retention incentives — including financial bonuses — for teachers who remain at a targeted school beyond a certain number of years, plus further incentives if that school experiences growth as measured by the school's value-added score.  Similar incentives are structured for principal retention.

"This is a proud moment for our Board of Education," said Board Member Yolie Flores.  "We have signaled, once again, our commitment to putting the interest of children first. The ACLU lawsuit effectively created the conditions for us to challenge the rules that historically have not served students well and that instead protect the interests of adults.  For this we are grateful."

At the urging of Mayor Villaraigosa and his Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, the ACLU and Public Counsel filed a lawsuit (Reed v. Smith) on behalf of Gompers, Liechty, and Markham Middle Schools arguing that the children's constitutional right to a quality education was being violated due to the disproportionate impact of teacher layoffs at those schools.

The full terms of the settlement agreement are detailed in the attached memorandum.