After suffering years of defeat through failed legislation, a high-profile lawsuit, and a ballot proposition, advocates of teacher tenure reform in California are making another attempt.
A bill introduced last week in Sacramento was crafted with wide input from teachers statewide.
The proposed change, extending the probationary period from two years to three, would align California with the vast majority of teacher tenure laws throughout the country. Others award tenure after three to five years.
Under the current system in California, administrators must decide whether a new teacher will be given permanent status by March 15 of the teacher’s second year.
The new bill would allow some teachers who don’t meet the requirements in three years a fourth or fifth year during which they would receive additional mentoring and professional development.
Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber of San Diego introduced AB 1220.
“When I served on the school board,” she said, “I saw how unjust the current system was in terms of its ability to help teachers become effective.
Ms. Weber, a former teacher and member of the San Diego Unified School Board, said it is impossible to determine if a teacher will be effective after just 18 months.
She said the process is unfair to new teachers and students.
In 42 other states, teachers are awarded tenure after three to five years of teaching, according to Ms. Weber’s office.
The extra year of probation is critical for teachers to develop and for administrators who are evaluating new teachers to make a fully informed decision about a new teacher’s potential, said Mike Stryer, California senior executive director of Teach Plus, which is sponsoring the bill with Educators 4 Excellence-Los Angeles.
“It really kind of addresses what teachers throughout California believe in when they’re thinking about tenure,” Mr. Stryer said.
He pointed to a Teach Plus survey of 506 unionized teachers in traditional schools statewide. It showed 85 percent of teachers think that tenure should be granted after at least three years of classroom instruction.
Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, one of the state’s largest teachers unions, said his members haven’t taken a formal position on the bill, but they are likely to oppose it. “It really misses the boat in terms of what is needed to improve or make sure that beginning teachers are prepared and ready to assume a classroom,” he said.
Ms. Favot may be contacted at