Vergara v. California

Vergara v. California
CourtCalifornia Courts of Appeal
DecidedApril 14, 2016
Citations246 Cal. App. 4th 619; Docket No. B258589S (Cal. Ct. App. 2016)

Vergara v. California was a lawsuit in the California state courts which dealt with a child's right to education and to instruction by effective teachers. The suit was filed in May 2012 by lawyers on behalf of nine California public school student plaintiffs. It alleged that several California statutes on teacher tenure, layoffs, and dismissal violated the Constitution of California by retaining some "grossly ineffective" teachers and thus denying equal protection to students assigned to the teachers. Furthermore, according to the complaint, the statutes had a disparate impact on poor and minority students, who were more likely to be assigned to a grossly-ineffective teacher.

On June 10, 2014, after a two-month trial, Judge Rolf M. Treu of the California Superior Court ruled[1] that all of the statutes challenged by the student plaintiffs were unconstitutional;[2] the ruling was finalized in August 2014.[3] On April 14, 2016, a three judge panel on the Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's decision[4] and held that the challenged statutes did not violate the California Constitution.[5] In May 2016, lawyers for the school students asked the California Supreme Court to reconsider the Court of Appeal reversal and reinstate the trial court's ruling in their favor.[6] On August 22, 2016 the State's highest court declined to review the case in a 4-3 decision,[7][8] thus permitting the Court of Appeal decision upholding the statutes to stand.[9]

  1. ^ Vergara v. California - Tentative Decision (Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles June 10, 2014), Text.
  2. ^ Medina, Jennifer (June 10, 2014). "Judge Rejects Teacher Tenure for California". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Vergara v. California - Judgment (Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles August 27, 2014), Text.
  4. ^ Vergara v. California - Appellate Decision (California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 2 April 14, 2016), Text.
  5. ^ Medina, Jennifer; Rich, Motoko (April 14, 2016). "California Appeals Court Reverses Decision to Overturn Teacher Tenure Rules". New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Resmovits, Joy (May 25, 2016). "California's teacher tenure battle is reignited by Vergara appeal and a new bill". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Vergara v. California - Supreme Court docket showing "Petition for review denied" (Supreme Court of California August 22, 2016), Text.
  8. ^ Vergara v. California - Denial of Review (Supreme Court of California August 22, 2016), Text.
  9. ^ Favot, Sarah (August 22, 2016). "JUST IN: Vergara ends — California Supreme Court refuses to take up teacher tenure case". LA School Report. Retrieved August 22, 2016.