The current Calif.

statutes, which give permanent status

to teachers after less than two years, deprive teachers of
adequate time to demonstrate competence and students
of potentially competent teachers, and are therefore
depriving students of their right to an equal education.
Witnesses from both sides agreed that an ideal timeframe
for establishing tenure should be longer.
The current Calif. statutes, which mandate so many extra
layers of proceedings that dismissals can take two to ten
years and cost up to $450,000, are so burdensome that they
encourage districts to keep inefective teachers. The statutes
go above and beyond the normal due process of classied
school employees, which the judge refers to as uber due
process. Witnesses from both sides agreed that in most
school districts, administrators do not bother to remove
inefective teachers because the process is so difcult.
The current Calif. statutes, which demand that during
budget-driven reductions in force, teachers be laid of
in reverse order of hire date (so the newest teacher is
let go rst), are too inexible. These laws can even force
districts to retain inefective teachers and let go of efective
ones, simply based on hiring date. Given that teachers
in high-poverty schools tend to be newer, this law
disproportionately impacts those students, and therefore
violates the constitutional right to an equal education.
The decision did not specify what the new process or
timeline for granting tenure should be.
The decision did not say that teachers lose their due process
right. In fact, it calls for equity and fair due process rights for
all employees throughout Californias school buildings.
The decision did not say that seniority could not or should
not be one factor taken into consideration, simply that it
should not be the only factor.
Tenure
Dismissal
Last-In-First-Out (LIFO)
What the decision says
What the decision says
What the decision says
What the decision does not say
What the decision does not say
What the decision does not say
As educators, we demand a system that restores
professionalism to education by reestablishing tenure
as a signicant professional milestone through use of a
comprehensive teacher evaluation system.
As educators, we demand a system that places student
achievement rst by displaying more transparency in
both scal choices and decision-making processes; and
adopting higher standards for students and teachers.
As educators, we demand a system that restores
professionalism to education by eliminating the practice of
Last In, First Out for teacher layofs.
State legislators could proactively work with teachers
to create a new system for earning and maintaining
tenure.
Union leadership could lead the charge in crafting a
more rigorous, thoughtful and student-focused tenure
system that rewards excellence.
Teachers and other school-based staf may demand
that administrators and ofcials dene and clarify
the dismissal process and their due process rights,
including the role of evaluations in dismissal decisions,
and appoint colleagues to ensure that due process is
carried out faithfully.
State legislators and unions could work with classroom
educators to ensure the dismissal process of teachers
reects the complexity of the teaching profession.
State legislators could proactively work with teachers
to create a multi-measure and thoughtful system for
handling lay-ofs that includes seniority, among other
factors, including performance.
Unions at the state and local level could poll their
teachers to nd out what kinds of factors teachers
would want considered during times of layofs.
E4E Declaration of Teachers Principles and Beliefs
E4E Declaration of Teachers Principles and Beliefs
E4E Declaration of Teachers Principles and Beliefs
Key opportunities for teacher voice
Key opportunities for teacher voice
Key opportunities for teacher voice
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On June 10, 2014, California judge Rolf Treu handed down a decision on the historic education case Vergara v. California.
Educators 4 Excellence teachers seek every opportunity available to elevate the teaching profession and student
achievement, as reected in the E4E Declaration of Teachers Principles and Beliefs, which advocates for an inclusive
education system that recruits and retains the best teachers, respects the teaching profession and places students rst.
Below, we present some background information on what the Vergara decision actually means, what E4E teachers believe
and, most importantly, how teachers can stay involved moving forward.
Learn more: E4E.org/tenure