Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/458422
Legal success in LA: Times cannot publish teacher data In what many are calling a stunning rebuke to the "bad teacher" nar- rative, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled disclosure of performance data tied to individual teachers was not warranted and would spur unhealthy comparisons, discourage recruitment and cause employees to leave a school district. It started in 2011 when the Los Angeles Times sought, through a Public Records Act request, performance data on each individual teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The intent was to disclose Academic Growth Over Time (AGT) data tied to the names of individual teachers. CTA worked with UTLA and LAUSD to oppose this request. The Times sued, and Superior Court Judge James Chalfant found in favor of the Times, although he stayed his own decision pending the appellate ruling. The court of appeal said there is virtually no public interest served in singling out individual teachers, agreeing with UTLA and LAUSD. CTA and UTLA strongly oppose the public release of personnel records, including AGT scores. The research community almost unanimously agrees that using student test scores to evaluate teachers is unreliable. It does not improve student achievement, and it undermines teacher collabo- ration at schools. The decision came down about the same time a public opinion poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose making pub- lic the student test scores of individual teachers. The Gallup/PDK International survey found that, in a shift in public opinion, a major- ity of Americans oppose evaluating teachers based on test scores. Federal court affirms adjuncts' free speech rights A federal appeals court ruled that the First Amendment protects part-time faculty who speak out about issues of "public concern" and that they are entitled to due process prior to termination. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision is not binding in Cal- ifornia, but the ruling in Meade v. Moraine Valley Community College is hailed as being important in affirming the rights of adjunct faculty. "The institution has trained adjunct instructors to 'lay low' in the hopes that our classes won't be cut or we will get that coveted full-time position, but it creates a pervasive and slow erosion of our free speech rights both in and out of the classroom," says Karen Roberts, a Long Beach City College art history adjunct professor who represents part-time faculty on the Community College Asso- ciation Board of Directors. "Robin Meade's actions teach us how to respond from a position of power and protect what we value — free speech rights." Robin Meade, a part-time business instructor at Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois, was asked by her college to submit a letter on its behalf to an international community college organi- zation. Instead of praising the college, however, Meade related that part-time instructors there were treated as "a disposable resource" and a "separate, lower class of people." Among other things, Meade indicated that the college's mistreatment of adjunct faculty contrib- uted to the problem of high failure rates in developmental classes at the college. Citing the letter, the college unceremoniously fired Meade two days later, despite the fact that she had a contract for the coming fall 2013 semester. Meade, who was also president of the adjunct faculty union, filed suit. Although a lower court ruled against her, the 7th Circuit Court found that Meade's speech raised matters of public concern and was therefore constitutionally protected. It also ruled that the promised contract was enough of a property interest to trigger due process protections. Writing on behalf of the three-judge panel, Chief Judge Diane P. Wood said Meade was "not alone in expressing concern about the treatment of adjuncts. Colleges and universities across the country are targets of increasing coverage and criticism regarding their use of adjunct faculty." M o r e o v e r, t h e j u d g e w r o t e , " T h e p e o p l e w h o a t t e n d M o r a i n e Va l l e y, a l o n g w i t h t h e i r f a m i l i e s a n d o t h e r s w h o live in the area, no doubt want to know if this practice poses a threat to student performance." Legal updates By Cynthia Menzel and Dina Martin Advocacy Legal 33 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 6