Illinois Supreme Court Decision Hurts Tenured Educators; Continues Chicago’s Separate and Unequal Practices
CHICAGO – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) released the following statement today in response to the Illinois Supreme Court decision to side with the Chicago Public Schools over the arbitrary layoffs of nearly 750 tenured teachers in 2010, with no recall policy:
“The CTU does not concur that the decision is correct and is evaluating its options. If the Court is right that our state law has one set of rights for other Illinois teachers but not for Chicago teachers, that’s wrong. Today’s decision amplifies Chicago’s separate and unequal practices—meaning what’s good for Illinois is not good for Chicago,” said CTU President Karen Lewis.
“It is unfortunate when we have the Supreme Court saying that it is acceptable for Chicago- and only Chicago - to put in less qualified teachers for more qualified ones. Yet that is what the majority said of the School Code section regarding recall: ‘This section does not guarantee that after any layoff the most qualified or most experienced tenured teacher will be recalled.’ That means the Board is free to continue its practice to pawn off new teachers with no experience on our children because the new hires are cheaper,” she said.
“Sure enough, that’s what the Board is doing. It is educational malpractice. That’s not what the Legislature intended, but even if it were, it’s morally wrong. The dissenting judge, joined by one other judge said: ‘Though the majority indicates the Board remains free to ignore its power, I urge the Board to complete its work. If it refuses, I urge the legislature to clarify the recall rights of tenured teachers in Chicago, as it has done before, and as it does currently for tenured teachers elsewhere in the state.’ That is our view as well. We ask that the citizens and legislators of this State to make the Board do what the Supreme Court excused it from doing – that is, to guarantee that after any layoff only the most qualified and most experienced teachers will be recalled.
“The CTU has said over and over, that we can build the most amazing educational system in the United States. We cannot do so with a Board of Education that is bent on destroying tenure and disserving our 400,000 students by denying them the most qualified educators in the system.”
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The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve. CTU, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, is the third largest teachers local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois. For more information visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com.
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