In North Carolina, educators win a victory, as noted in Indiana’s The Republic:
North Carolina lawmakers violated veteran teachers’ constitutional rights by passing a law that would remove job protections they’ve earned, the state’s Court of Appeals found Tuesday, but the court rejected efforts to restore newer teachers’ pathway to the protected job status.
Under the 2013 law, legislators sought to move away from a system that protected teachers from firing or demotion after they passed four years of probation and earned “career status.”
Veteran teachers argued that the law violated constitutional rights protecting contracts and preventing governments from taking a person’s property.
The NCAE fights back and wins a victory on a 2-1 ruling, but it’s not the state’s Supreme Court.
A joint statement from state House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said legislative leaders are reviewing the opinion and considering their options.
“While we are disappointed with today’s ruling, we appreciate the thoughtful dissent,” they said.
The Charlotte Observer notes:
Six teachers and the Association of Educators sued, and last year Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood ruled that taking tenure from teachers was an unconstitutional taking of property rights.
The decision did not apply to teachers who had not earned tenure. Supporters of phasing out tenure called the ruling “judicial activism.”
(h/t a North Carolina Educator)
In other news, other citizens of NC protest the dubious actions of their leaders, as the Charlotte Observer reports:
Critics of the Republican-controlled state legislature gathered Monday night to induct several North Carolina lawmakers into a different kind of hall of fame: the Moral Monday movement’s Hall of Shame. …
The group displayed posters with photos of Mecklenburg state representatives Bill Brawley, Rob Bryan, Charles Jeter, Jacqueline Schaffer, and Sens. Bob Rucho and Jeff Tarte.
Rucho was covered previously here.
