Gov. Pat Quinn today is expected to sign a major education reform package that could increase the time Chicago schoolchildren spend in the classroom, give school districts new powers to dump incompetent teachers and make it harder for teachers to strike.
The legislation, which allows districts to lengthen both school days and school years, was a victory for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who hailed the bill's passage as a "historic day of opportunity for kids in the city of Chicago."
Another major change would see teacher performance outweigh seniority in making decisions on layoffs, recall and assignments in classrooms statewide -- a provision Chicago already has in place. Eventually, teachers who rack up excellent scores will be able to get tenure within three years under a more stringent method of evaluating performances. Training will be available for school board members to help them understand their duties.
Quinn's decision to sign the measure into law comes despite concerns raised by the Chicago Teachers Union, which protested provisions it previously had backed.
The legislation requires a 75 percent vote before the Chicago Teachers Union could strike. But the wording is unclear whether employees who don't vote in union elections could be counted. The union wants only union members eligible to vote in things like union elections to cast ballots on a strike vote. d
Karen Lewis, the union president, has said she is "working toward" passing a follow-up bill that would make clear who is eligible to vote for a strike and who is not
No comments:
Post a Comment