Does tenure rob students of a good education? According to a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge two years ago: yes.

According to California’s the 2nd District Court of Appeal yesterday: No.

Teachers unions in California had the law on their side once again after a court of appeals reversed a decision two years ago that "incompetent teachers were almost impossible to fire because of tenure laws and that schools in poor neighborhoods were dumping grounds for bad teachers,” said the NewsandSentinel.com.

While the plaintiffs- described by the Los Angeles Times as a “diverse group of students”- are disappointed by the ruling, their lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.

If this happens, it would be the second time in a short while that California teachers unions were on the defense in the country’s highest court.

In late March, the Supreme Court ruled on the Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Assn., finding that fair share fees in unions are constitutional and do not violate First Amendment rights like the plaintiffs argued. 

Yesterday’s ruling ended a case that "highlighted tensions between teacher unions, school leaders, lawmakers and well-funded education reform groups over whether policies like tenure and firing teachers with the least seniority keep ineffective instructors in the classroom, particularly in already low-performing schools,” the NewsandSentinel.com said.

While the court agreed that educational inequalities exist, it said the challenged statures are not to blame.

Read the full story.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/15/2016