SARAH POLLANS business manager/copy editor
14 | THE PROSPECTOR
Since its introduction in the 1920s, the teacher tenure has garnered as much criticism as it has support. It was first created as a way to defend teachers from dismissals based on false or arbitrary accusations. At that time, women made up most of the teachers in America, and with the women’s rights movement just around the corner, the idea of tenure came to protect all teachers from getting fired. In California, teachers go through a two year probationary status period where they are evaluated by school and district administration. After that, they gain tenure. Under tenure, teachers can only be dismissed for a “just cause� (unsatisfactory performance or misconduct) and must be given written notice of intent to dismiss for unsatisfactory perfor-
mance. Essentially, tenure gives teachers the right to due process in the event of a remark that potentially warrants dismissal. In 2012, the lawsuit Vergara v. California was filed, and lawyers challenged five statutes. Collectively, these statutes showed that, although tenured teachers are granted a due process before being dismissed, the process is tedious, expensive, and far more extensive than the typical process to dismiss a civil servant. Furthermore, the Last In, First Out statute states that, when layoffs are necessary, less experienced, nontenured teachers will be dismissed over tenured teachers and teacher effectiveness must not be used in determining dismissal. Despite the case never making it to the California Supreme Court, it shows how the tenure creates a biased system for tenured teachers and against students. Similarly, school ad-
WHY TENURE SHOULD BE ABOLISHED
