Seniority Rules and Equal Rights in LA's Public Schools

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State law requires that, when teachers are laid off in order to cut costs, the last hired must be the first fired. But LA's elected school board has reached an agreement to modify that on the grounds that the seniority rule deprives students in high-poverty areas of their constitutional rights. Will a judge sign the deal? Will the teachers union go along?  What happens to schools that are not in deprived neighborhoods? We hear from the school board, the union and the ACLU. On our rebroadcast of To the Point, the bank bailout is over but the fallout continues.

State law requires that, when teachers are laid off in order to cut costs, the last hired must be the first fired. But LA's elected school board has reached an agreement to modify that on the grounds that the seniority rule deprives students in high-poverty areas of their constitutional rights. Will a judge sign the deal? Will the teachers union go along?  What happens to schools that are not in deprived neighborhoods? We hear from the school board, the union and the ACLU. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the bank bailout has become the leading symbol for the current hatred of government—on the Left as well as the Right. Was TARP the savior of the economy or the original sin?  Now that it's over, what did it really cost?

From this Episode:

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producers:

Katie Cooper, Sonya Geis