Vergara v. California: A Policy Regimes Analysis

• In Event: 66.079 - Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 66.079-9 - Legal Issues in Education

Abstract

This paper will analyze Vergara v. California (2014). In this case, a court ruled that major California laws governing teacher tenure and dismissal were unconstitutional and left it in the hands of the state legislature to replace the laws if it chooses. The court particularly ruled that the laws violated the state constitution’s requirements for equal protection because they resulted in the disproportionate provision of under-qualified and ineffective teachers to poor and minority students. We will particularly use policy regimes theory to examine Vergara not only for the policy changes that it requires and the underlying legal arguments, but also for the implications of increased judicial involvement in modern education policy reform efforts.

Authors

• Benjamin Michael Superfine, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Alea Rachel Thompson, University of Illinois at Chicago