...in lawsuit funded by idle, destructive Silion Valley busybodies who know nothing about education.
(Thanks to Felipe Leon for the pointer.)
Another reader wondered what the import of this would be in other states and for tenure in colleges and universities. As I understand it, the trial court's decision was based on a state constitutional right to an education. My guess is all states recognize a similar right (I haven't looked into this), but the court's decision was based on factual findings about how rules about tenure (and the like) affected the educational experience of the children. Other courts in other states may or may not reach similar conclusions. (The decision may also be overturned or modified on appeal in California.) The right to a public education does not, typically, encompass university education, so it is doubtful that argumentative strategy would work in an attack on tenure at the collegiate level. It also would have no force for tenure at private schools, where it is standardly a contractual right.
UPDATE: Philosopher/lawyer John Bogart writes:
Headlines notwithstanding, the decision does not hold that tenure for public school teachers is contrary to the California Constitution. The news coverage and public understanding will likely see it that way, but what the judge held was not that tenure violated the Constitution.
He did hold that (1) requiring tenure decisions after 12 to 18 months on the job, (2) onerous requirements for discharge decisions and (3) mandatory LIFO layoff policies violate the California Constitution. Nothing in the opinion even suggests that tenure is per se out — there is no endorsement of at-will employment. If tenure decisions were made after 3 to 5 years, that would likely pass muster, for example.
Still, the public understanding will be that tenure is somehow unconstitutional.
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