Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is promoting a voter initiative for a special Nov. 8 election that would change the way California teachers are hired and fired.
The measure, Proposition 74, would extend probationary periods for new teachers from two years to five and would streamline the process for dismissing permanent teachers.
The measure, and the state laws that govern teacher employment, can seem like a jumble of rules and regulations. Here is a primer to clear up some of the confusion.
Question: Do teachers get tenure?
Answer: No. Educators and others often mistakenly talk about "teacher tenure," giving the impression that public school teachers have lifelong job security.
The term traditionally refers to university and college professors who are awarded tenure based on their seniority and academic accomplishments. Tenure ensures academic freedom and enables institutions to attract top talent to the profession. Once awarded tenure, professors are virtually guaranteed a lifelong place on the school's faculty, but they can be removed under some circumstances.
Q: So, what job security do K-12 public school teachers really have?
A: Districts offer teachers "permanent" status after a two-year probationary period. But permanent teachers can be dismissed for a number of causes spelled out in state law. These causes include unsatisfactory performance, immoral conduct, dishonesty, felony criminal convictions and alcoholism or other drug abuse that make them unfit to instruct children.
Q: How common is it for permanent teachers to be fired for unsatisfactory performance?
A: Few teachers ever get dismissed for that because principals often don't have the time -- or inclination -- to document problems. It can take two years or more for school districts to prepare a dismissal case. Instead, schools often reassign poor teachers to other campuses, or teachers resign or retire, knowing that they are facing the dismissal process.
Schools have a much easier time getting rid of probationary teachers. Those teachers can be removed at the end of each school year without explanation as long as their districts notify them of the intention to remove them by March 15.
Q: How are teachers evaluated?
