July 17--An education advocacy group sued 13 California school districts Thursday, claiming that they have ignored a state law requiring teachers' performance evaluations to include student standardized test scores.
The lawsuit targets the largest school systems in the state that have barred such a use of test results through their collective-bargaining agreements with teachers unions. These contract provisions are illegal under state law, according to the complaint, which was filed Thursday in Contra Costa County.
The litigation represents the latest effort by Students Matter, an L.A.-based group that has turned to California courts to make changes in education law that were otherwise blocked at the state and local level.
The organization was founded by tech entrepreneur David F. Welch to build on other litigation that has sought to weaken teacher job protections and hold instructors more accountable for student achievement.
The group's first suit was successful, when a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles ruled a year ago that several teacher job protections were unconstitutional because they hurt students. That case, Vergara vs. California, was watched nationally and spawned similar litigation in New York. The California ruling is on hold pending appeals.
If the ruling is upheld, teachers would lose the right to earn tenure and layoffs would no longer be based on seniority. In addition, the process for firing instructors would be streamlined. The Legislature could pass laws restoring some of these job protections in another form, but they would have to survive court scrutiny.
The Southern California school systems named in the latest filing are El Monte City, Inglewood Unified, Chaffey Joint Union, Chino Valley Unified, Ontario-Montclair, Saddleback Valley Unified, Upland Unified and Victor Elementary District. The others are: Fairfield-Suisun Unified, Fremont Union, Pittsburg Unified; San Ramon Valley Unified and Antioch Unified.
"School districts are not going to get away with bargaining away their ability to use test scores to evaluate teachers," said attorney Joshua S. Lipshutz, who is working on behalf of Students Matter. "That's a direct violation of state law."
The plaintiffs are six California residents, including some parents and teachers, three of whom are participating anonymously.
In all, the districts serve about 250,000 students, although the group's goal is to compel change across California.
"The impact is intended to be statewide, to show that no school district is above the law," Lipshutz said.
The plaintiffs are not asking the courts to determine how much weight test scores should be given in a performance review, Lipshutz said. He cited research, however, suggesting that test scores should account for 30% to 40% of an evaluation.
The current case, Doe vs. Antioch, builds on earlier litigation involving the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 2012, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the school system had to include student test scores in teacher evaluations. But the judge also allowed wide latitude for negotiation between the union and district.
The court decision was based on the 1971 Stull Act, which set out rules for teacher evaluations. Many districts had failed for decades to comply with it, according to some experts.
Advocates initially went after L.A. Unified because it is, by far, the largest school system in California. Under a court-imposed deadline, the union and district signed a pact that incorporated the use of test scores, but, later, disagreements arose. The two sides are currently in negotiations over a revised evaluation.
Elsewhere, other school districts did not fall into line.
"All the evidence points to the fact that a majority are not" complying with the law, said Bill Lucia, the president of EdVoice, the Sacramento-based organization behind the earlier Stull Act lawsuit.
The 13 districts in the new litigation signed labor deals that don't allow the consideration of student achievement, according to the complaint, which contains excerpts from collective bargaining agreements.
The contract for the Fremont district, for example, states that standardized tests "shall not be used in the performance evaluation of a unit member, unless by agreement."
The issue has percolated in the state Legislature, which this year considered four bills affecting teacher performance reviews. The most contentious ones have been pushed into next year's session.
The California Department of Education was not named in the suit, but could become involved because Inglewood Unified is currently under state control as a condition of a financial bailout.
