Lawsuit takes aim at California's legal protections for teachers

[Starry Messenger]

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/16/local/la-me-0516-lausd-teachers-20120516

A Bay Area nonprofit backed partly by groups known for battling teachers unions has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn five California laws that, they say, make it too difficult to dismiss ineffective teachers.

The suit, filed on behalf of eight students, takes aim at California laws that govern teacher tenure rules, seniority protections and the teacher dismissal process.

<snip>

The group behind the legal action is the newly formed Students Matter. The founder is Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch and the group's funders include the foundation of L.A. philanthropist Eli Broad.

<snip>

The advisory committee of Students Matter includes Students First, a group headed by former District of Columbia schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; Democrats for Education Reform, whose California branch is led by former state Sen. Gloria Romero; and Parent Revolution, which organizes parents to compel dramatic changes at local schools through so-called parent-trigger laws. All of these have faced off against teacher unions in the past.

[YvonneCa]

1. Great...

... Maybe now the teachers will get louder...

[jacobs27]

2. Education in California

http://2012californiaussenaterace.designmark2000.com

The California school system is not failing our children; we are failing our children and the California school system. We failed our children when we passed Proposition 13 and schools lost a source of funding, we failed our children when we elected state legislatures that felt no remorse in cutting the education budget by billions of dollars each year and schools lost more funding, and we continue to fail our children when we don’t make legislatures and the Department of Education accountable for decisions that negatively affect our 1.5 million children in the California school system.

[HiPointDem]

3. David F. Welch? Any relation to the John Birch Society Welch? (sugar daddy, jr mints, etc)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Welch,_Jr.