A Chance for Justice at Low-Income Schools

A legal settlement reached in Los Angeles Tuesday could reverberate through schools in low-income neighborhoods across the country.

The Board of Education there approved a deal with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that would radically limit the practice of laying off teachers based solely on seniority.

How would that benefit low-income students? The schools they attend generally have the largest numbers of inexperienced teachers. That means when a budget crisis triggers layoffs, low-income schools see a disproportionate amount of teacher turnover. The constant churning of staff members destroys the continuity that makes a school good. Students and teachers never get to know each other for long.

According to the Los Angeles Times, this settlement could change that situation across the country:

It lays out one of the most sweeping reforms to teacher layoffs in the nation's school districts, which generally follow a "last hired, first fired" approach. . . .

"This is a shifting of the tectonic plates," said David Gregory, a professor of labor law at St. John's College in New York City. "If this were to move forward, every major district in the country is going to look to this as the model…. It would be the most innovative system in the country — if it comes to pass."

Although the proposed settlement only applies to L.A. schools, the ramifications could be national, said Stanford University education law professor William Koski. In essence, the case establishes that having quality teachers in high poverty schools could be considered a constitutional right in California.

"That's a pretty big deal," he said. "We've established the fact that you can't do harm to poor kids."

That would be a huge change—one long overdue. This year alone, between 100,000 and 300,000 teachers faced layoffs across the country. As a group, those teachers touch the lives of millions of students. That in itself is a terrible blow to education. The fact that many of these layoffs are weighted toward low-income schools makes it a disaster.

The jury—or at least the judges—are still out on how this agreement will affect U.S. schools. But it is a step in the right direction. Students at low-income schools may finally be able to count on seeing the same teachers and staff each year. Those teachers will be able to build relationships with the kids who need help the most. The students, in turn, will be able to count on their schools and stop wondering who’s behind the teacher’s desk this year.

Price is the managing editor of Teaching Tolerance.