Bill proposes more time to earn tenure

SACRAMENTO — A California lawmaker who says schools do not have enough time to make teacher tenure decisions announced a bill on Tuesday to give teachers additional years to prove they deserve permanent status.

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber’s proposed legislation would give public school teachers up to five years to earn tenure, a permanent status designation granted after a probationary employment period. The current twoyear process is too short and not flexible enough, said Weber, a Democrat from San Diego. If a school district doesn’t grant a teacher tenure within two years, the teacher typically cannot get a second chance.

Weber’s bill would make teachers eligible for tenure after three years, and school districts would have the option to give them another year or two. Districts would have to provide additional mentoring and support to fourth- and fifth-year teachers not granted tenure.

Most states have a longer, more substantial process to determine whether a teacher should be given tenure, Weber said.

In California, the tenure process is essentially automatic for most teachers, said Bootsie Battle Holt, a math teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District.

“Extending the timeframe for tenure gives educators an opportunity to show that they are proficient in their craft, rather than showing that they have just lasted in the classroom for a short period of time,” Battle Holt said Tuesday, flanked by more than a dozen other teachers supporting the bill. “Tenure should be an earned benchmark granted after an adequate amount of time for a teacher to demonstrate effectiveness.”

Weber said she doesn’t know if the bill, AB1220, will affect how many teachers are tenured, but she said it will make the tenure process more meaningful.