After a string of legal defeats, an education reform group that鈥檚 been fighting state laws on teacher tenure has lost its only dedicated staff member.
The Partnership for Educational Justice, a nonprofit founded by school reform activist Campbell Brown, has backed lawsuits against teacher-tenure laws in Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey. The lawsuits in Minnesota and New Jersey have been dismissed, but the New York lawsuit is continuing on toward trial.
But now, the operations of the last remaining lawsuit will be handled by , or 50CAN, an advocacy network that fights for policies such as teacher-evaluation reform, equitable funding for students, and school choice through local campaigns. In an email, Alissa Boshnack Bernstein confirmed that she had recently stepped down from her position as executive director of the Partnership for Educational Justice.
"[W]e determined that the most impactful use of the organization鈥檚 resources was to focus them to directly support the discovery/trial needs of the Wright v. N.Y. teacher quality lawsuit, which recently entered a new phase鈥攖he discovery phase鈥攊nstead of pursuing other activities or new projects at this time,鈥� she said.
In 2017, PEJ became an affiliate of 50CAN. (Brown, the former CNN anchor and a friend of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, is now the head of news partnerships at Facebook, after founding education news site . She has been outspoken in her opposition against teachers鈥� unions and remains on 50CAN鈥檚 board of directors.)
Now, Marc Porter Magee, the CEO and founder of 50CAN, said because the New York lawsuit is headed toward trial, it made sense to focus the organization鈥檚 resources on court costs beyond the pro bono legal counsel already in place. While the case is still under PEJ鈥檚 name, it will be staffed by 50CAN鈥檚 national team, he said.
鈥淲e think this case has the opportunity to be transformative, and that鈥檚 our primary focus鈥攖o make sure we have every opportunity for this case to fulfill its potential to help kids,鈥� Magee said.
Still, he said the Partnership for Educational Justice will remain its own brand within 50CAN. In 2016, 50CAN controversial nonprofit StudentsFirst, which was launched by former D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Magee wouldn鈥檛 rule out future litigation work through PEJ, and said that depending on the opportunities, PEJ might 鈥渟cale back up鈥� with its own dedicated staff again.
鈥淭he basic model of PEJ is a focus on educational justice in the courts that pairs top law firms providing pro bono legal services with a nonprofit staff helping do the leg work,鈥� Magee said. 鈥淭hat model is a really powerful one, and we intend to keep investing in it, within the PEJ brand.鈥�
was down late last week, but a 50CAN spokesman said that was because of a glitch that occurred when upgrading the site. After 澳门跑狗论坛 inquired about it on Monday, the website was back up.
A Rocky Litigation Road
PEJ has argued against tenure protections that 鈥渁re so extreme that they amount to ironclad jobs for life, irrespective of demonstrated effectiveness in the classroom,鈥� according to its website. These protections can deprive students of an adequate education, the lawsuits have alleged.
But teacher-tenure rules have been difficult to fight in court. In Minnesota, the state Court of Appeals . Last month, that the group of parents in Minnesota had decided not to appeal to the state supreme court, bringing the case to an end. And late last year, the New Jersey Supreme Court that dismissed PEJ鈥檚 lawsuit challenging the state鈥檚 鈥渓ast in, first out鈥� policy that protected teachers with seniority from losing their jobs.
A similar, high-profile case challenging teacher-tenure rules in California, Vergara v. California, was in the state鈥檚 Supreme Court in 2016, which effectively ended the lawsuit.
On the other hand, Colorado鈥檚 Supreme Court 鈥渢enure鈥� or 鈥減ermanent teachers.鈥� And an appellate court ruled last year that PEJ鈥檚 last remaining lawsuit in New York , despite the union鈥檚 attempts to dismiss it. (PEJ鈥檚 lawsuit, Wright v. N.Y., was merged with a similar case brought by parent activist Mona Davids.)
Magee said he鈥檚 optimistic about the New York lawsuit, which argues that teacher job protections amount to permanent employment, even for bad teachers.
鈥淚n the next year, this could be an important focal point,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that if things proceed as we hope they will, this is going to be an important next step forward.鈥�
What Does This Mean for School Reform?
Magee pushed back against the idea that this consolidation has any broader implications for the education advocacy movement, which seeks to improve student outcomes by fighting against policies and regulations like teacher tenure.
鈥淭his is really about this specific case, and the phase it鈥檚 going into,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur approach to this work has always been to be really focused on making sure that every dollar we鈥檙e raising is being spent in a way that鈥檚 going to get the highest return for kids.鈥�
Still, in recent years, the public narrative has shifted away from weeding out the bad teachers, and toward supporting all educators. The downsizing of the Partnership for Educational Justice could reflect that shift in national rhetoric, which has been heightened by the wave of teacher activism and strikes.
鈥淚t demonstrates that the public has lost any desire for public attacks on teachers鈥攖hat鈥檚 not an effective rhetorical strategy anymore,鈥� said Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. 鈥淐ampbell Brown鈥檚 group seized the zeitgeist when it set up shop, but the story that they were telling about teachers and their unions鈥攖hat teachers are primarily self-interested and they used the collective-bargaining process in a way that harms children鈥攖hat narrative really no longer fits with the changed political context.鈥�