As the state's budget crunch seemingly tightens daily, groups of lawyers are fighting the decision of school districts to balance budgets by sending teachers to the unemployment line.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Public Counsel Law Center and the firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP sued the Los Angeles Unified School District and the state Wednesday, claiming the constitutional rights of students to a fair and equal education are being crushed under the weight of teacher layoffs and budget cuts.
To argue the lawyers' point, the suit points to the aftermath of massive job cuts at three schools: Samuel Gompers Middle School in South Los Angeles, Edwin Markham Middle School in Watts and John Liechty Middle School in Pico-Union.
According to the
Some replacement teachers "quit after only a few days," the suit alleges. Many classes were then filled with instructors who did not have the proper credentials or by substitutes who rotated through. Several substitutes allegedly gave all students a "C" because they didn't know the material well enough to grade the work, the suit claims.
Sharail Reed, a Markham eighth-grader, said she has had at least nine substitute history teachers this year. When her mother asks her what she's learning in that class, Sharail said: "I don't have anything to tell her."
The case could set a precedent for how teachers are laid off statewide and possibly carve out protections for schools serving the poor. Interestingly, LAUSD and state officials didn't seem to object to the lawsuit's arguments, but maintained that the budget cuts often left their hands tied.
According to the LA Daily News, district superintendent Ramon C. Cortines stated:
Unfortunately, the layoffs of teachers and thousands of other LAUSD employees will be unavoidable for the second year in a row because of a $640 million budget deficit caused by the state's horrific financial situation. We need greater flexibility in determining how the District can keep our high-performing teachers. More importantly, this District needs adequate resources to keep more teachers in our classrooms.
Catherine Lhamon, director of impact litigation at Public Counsel Law Center, told the LA Daily News that such explanations were insufficient.
"Our constitution demands that kids get an equal opportunity to learn," Lhamon said. "Traditional rules cannot trump the constitution."
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