Court rules Chicago Board of Education illegally fired teachers
CHICAGO – Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis today announced a stunning court victory that brings tremendous benefits to public school students and parents, and restores justice to teachers who were unlawfully fired by the Chicago Board of Education (Board).
U.S. District Judge David H. Coar today declared that the firing of tenured teachers under the Board’s June 15, 2010 resolution granting CEO Ron Huberman the power to fire teachers without regard to seniority or tenure was illegal. The judge further barred the Chicago Board of Education from “conducting future layoffs or ‘honorable discharges’ in a similarly unlawful manner.” The judge ordered the Chicago Board of Education to negotiate a set of recall rules within the next 30 days.
“Teachers unions were formed in the first place to protect mainly female teachers from retaliatory actions, political firings and crony hirings. Nothing’s changed. The need for strong unions to protect teachers, students and academic freedom, especially in Chicago, is upheld today. Through these illegal firings, the Chicago Board of Education tried to silence our tenured teachers who are the strongest advocates for students’ educational rights and the real fighters for better learning environments.
Chicago Public Schools should stop slurring our teachers, suggesting that those fired somehow were less than exemplary teachers. The court appears to agree – tenure is necessary to academic freedom,” said Lewis.
Click here to download Judge Coar's order.
