Kansas reacts to California ruling on teacher tenure

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(KSNT) - A California judge says teacher tenure laws deprive students there of their right to an equal education.

Tenure laws are a hot topic in Kansas right now.

'Our association has believed that we do need to make some changes in some of the laws governing how boards work with teachers, but we're not trying to do it in a way that will be punitive to teachers or perceived as taking away their rights,' said Mark Tallman, the associate executive director of Kansas Association of School Boards.

That is why Kansas is watching California where a judge ruled tenure is not fair to students. Judge Rolf Treu in California compared their teacher tenure case to the monumental Brown v. Board of Education case, saying it was necessary to apply the decisions' principle to the 'quality of the educational experience.'

The judge determined California's tenure system makes it nearly impossible to remove low-performing teachers, it allows the newest teachers to be laid off first, and that the least effective teachers are often assigned to schools with low-income students.

'What is significant is this continuing interest around the country and in Kansas about finding the right balance between protecting teachers from arbitrary treatment... And making sure we have the best quality teachers available to help our students,' said Tallman.

This year, Kansas lawmakers developed a law affecting how teachers can be fired. The Kansas National Education Association says it has: '...not had an opportunity to review the judge's opinion or relevant California statutes. Each state has very different laws.'

The KNEA announced Monday it will go to court to fight the new law.