Following assaults on teachers in Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and
Florida – among others- the California legislature this week is using the “gut
and amend” procedure to change the current teacher evaluation system in the
state. The brutal assault in Florida led to the defeat of the moderate governor
Christie by Tea Party advocates in 2010.
In California legislators claiming to be responding to a Los Angeles judge’s
ruling that Los Angeles was improperly implementing the current law,
legislators are trying change the law before Friday using Assembly Bill
5. An active advocate of the yet undefined plan is Michelle Rhee’s
organization, so called “Students First.”
Using the argument that these changes are necessary to respond to the Obama
Administration’s Race to the Top, which has never been passed into law,
anti union forces are arguing for test based accountability systems.
These are popular politically on the right but they have failed in state after
state to improve the schools.
The legislature could improve the schools by doing their job –that is to
adequately fund the schools. As California cuts over $5 billion from the
schools conditions and learning in these schools deteriorate. Instead of
doing their job and providing the resources some legislators call for a new
system of teacher evaluation.
