Rare News Desk
Whatever you think of the efforts of Bill Gates and his foundation in education, it is clear that he wants to reform America’s woeful public schools – and has devoted considerable resources to make this happen.
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Now, in the wake of Tuesday’s ruling in Vergara v. California that forces the Golden State to end near-lifetime employment for public school teachers, Gates can do a great service to good teachers and children by funding similar lawsuits in the other 49 states.
As I explained in a piece on my Dropout Nation, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have good reason to fear that reformers in other states will rip a page out from Vergara. This is because all state constitutions have some form of equal an protection clause, and many have been affected by school funding lawsuits that have determined that state responsibility for a child’s education goes beyond providing access to a classroom. The U.S. Supreme Court, in particular, affirmed the role of state governments as being ultimately responsible for public education (along with all other forms of local government) a century ago in Hunter v. Pittsburgh.
Fifteen state constitutions, including California’s, give their respective state governments responsibility to “promote intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement”. Not only are state governments given leeway to shape public education as they see fit – including expanding public charter schools and other forms of school choice – they are responsible for ensuring that all kids are provided with high-quality teaching and curricula.
School reformers in other states are already looking to launch their own Vergara suits. The New York City Parents Union, a school reform group, has already announced plans to challenge the Empire State’s tenure and teacher dismissal laws. An arm of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst (whose parent organization filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs in Vergara) may also head to the courts.
But litigation takes money – especially when it involves going up against teachers’ unions with their vast coffers. This is where Gates and his foundation can play an important part.
By funding Vergara torts throughout the country, Gates can help reformers take down the state laws on tenure, teacher dismissal, and reverse-seniority (last in-first out) layoffs that are possibly the biggest barriers to overhauling public education. As California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu pointed out in his 16-page ruling in Vergara, two decades of research has proven that near-lifetime employment policies harm improvements in student achievement by preventing school districts from firing even the most-incompetent and repugnant teachers.
This matters greatly because teacher performance is the most-important factor in improving student achievement, and there is little evidence that teachers get any better at their jobs the longer they work. The impact of classroom teaching extends beyond academic performance. Every single significant improvement in teacher performance can increase the future earnings of the average student by an additional $4,500 a year by age 28, while firing a laggard teacher can increase future earnings for an entire class by $266,000, according to a 2012 study led by Raj Chetty and John Friedman of Harvard University.
At the same time, by funding Vergara suits, Gates will also help teachers. Especially for high-performing younger teachers, who are the ones most at risk under last in-first out layoff rules because they are the first to lose their jobs during reductions in force (while incompetent colleagues with more seniority keep their spots). By putting an end to state laws that force competent teachers to work alongside incompetent colleagues (and even get the same pay and benefits), Vergara suits would make teaching a more-attractive profession for talented college students and mid-career workers looking to put their skills and experience to work for students.
When it comes to education reform, Bill Gates has always been willing to put his money where his mouth is. Backing lawsuits similar to Vergara is the best opportunity yet for him to back a reform effort that can have immediate payoffs with the bang of a judge’s gavel.
