On Sept. 4th, the State Supreme Court will hear the case of 7,000 teachers fired after Hurricane Katrina. |
"Katrina accomplished in a day ... what Louisiana school reformers couldn't do after years of trying". -- American Enterprise Institute.When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast exactly nine years ago, New Orleans school chief Paul Vallas saw the disaster as an opportunity to carry out his long-standing mission by replacing New Orleans' public schools with privately-run, union-free charter schools. He was brought in on the wake of the firing of 7,500 teachers and other school employees -- most of them African-American -- and the crushing of United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO), once Louisiana's largest labor union and its first racially integrated teachers' union.Vallas takes credit for installing the largest privately managed charter system in the nation.
His "grand experiment in urban education for the nation" worked, at least up until now and is seen by corporate reformers as a model for urban districts from Detroit to Chicago.. The so-called Recovery School District (RSD) has become the first district in the nation to do away completely with traditional public schools, replacing most of its older, veteran teaching force with younger, whiter 5-week wonders from TFA.
But a class-action lawsuit could finally bring some justice for the fired teachers. The case will be heard by the State Supreme Court on Thursday, Sept. 4th, following lower court decisions that held the employees were wrongfully terminated. Teachers and their lawyers are expecting a positive decision.
Quinn picked Vallas as running mate. |
Cross-posted at Schooling in the Ownership Society.
Teachers and the union were expecting a win, but they were wrong. In Oct. 2014 the court ruled in favor of Gov. Jindal's union-busting law.
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