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The state's two largest teachers unions joined the case as defendants through a Motion to Intervene, granted by the Los Angeles Superior Court on May 2, 2013.
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Giving Weight to Evaluation
"Last week, the Hechinger Report and the Center for Investigative Journalism published an article highlighting the urgency of Students Matter’s efforts to strike down California’s teacher retention and dismissal statutes that interfere with children’s right to a quality education. "
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Recent Research
According to a survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, 82% of respondents are concerned that schools in lower-income areas have a shortage of good teachers compared to schools in wealthier areas.
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About Students Matter
April 18, 2012 04:47 PMStudents Matter is a national non-profit organization dedicated to sponsoring impact litigation to promote access to quality public education.
We believe in the power of a good teacher. Research shows that quality teachers make the difference—not only in students’ academic performance but also in lifetime achievement. Having equal access to quality education means having equal access to quality teachers.
Yet, current laws force administrators to knowingly place grossly ineffective teachers in front of students each year. An ineffective teacher in any classroom creates an arbitrary, unjustifiable and unconstitutional inequality among students that we cannot allow to exist.
Vergara v. California, the first case sponsored by Students Matter, seeks to strike down the outdated and harmful state laws keeping ineffective teachers in schools, repelling great teachers from the profession and jeopardizing the future of our students.