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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Some lawmakers say this month's changes to the state school code do not do enough to help school districts remove ineffective teachers, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
The changes establish a way to link individual teachers to individual student academic performance, which administrators can then use as evidence of ineffectiveness, but does not change the Teacher Tenure Act itself, The Press reported. School administrators have said the lengthy and expensive procedures required under the Tenure Act make it difficult to remove teachers.
State Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck Twp., told The Press that while the new code is an improvement, a bill she originally sponsored would have changed the Act to allow speedier removal of ineffective teachers.
Michigan Education Association spokesman Doug Pratt said the changes are enough to meet federal guidelines to apply for Race to the Top stimulus funding, which is the underlying reason the reform was enacted.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Tenure
reform left out of Michigan's sweeping changes to education policy," Dec.
24, 2009
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Teacher, district settle for
$106,000," Oct. 19, 2009
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