Seniority Rules and Equal Rights in LA's Public Schools
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State law requires that, when teachers are laid off in order to cut costs, the last hired must be the first fired. But LA's elected school board has reached an agreement to modify that on the grounds that the seniority rule deprives students in high-poverty areas of their constitutional rights. Will a judge sign the deal? Will the teachers union go along? What happens to schools that are not in deprived neighborhoods? We hear from the school board, the union and the ACLU. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the bank bailout has become the leading symbol for the current hatred of government—on the Left as well as the Right. Was TARP the savior of the economy or the original sin? Now that it's over, what did it really cost?
Main Topic
Seniority Rules and Equal Rights in LA's Public Schools ()
Because of the economic crunch, the Los Angeles Unified School District was forced to lay off teachers last year, and that’s certain to happen again. State law mandates that the last teacher hired must be the first fired. In February, the American Civil Liberties Union went to court, claiming that the seniority rule was depriving some kids of their constitutional right to an equal education. Now, the elected School Board has approved what Mayor Villaraigosa calls a “landmark agreement” that protects some 45 under-performing schools from lay-offs. The teachers’ union may challenge the deal.
Guests:
- Mark Rosenbaum: Chief Counsel, ACLU of Southern California, @ACLU_SoCal
- Steve Zimmer: Board Member, LAUSD, @SteveZimmer1
- A.J. Duffy: President, United Teachers Los Angeles
- John Ayers: Father of two children at Beethoven Street Elementary School
Main Topic
The Bank Bailout Is Over but the Fallout Continues ()
The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, officially ended last Sunday. It was rolled out two years ago in the midst of a worldwide financial panic by George Bush’s Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. He said $700 billion to bail out the banks, and Congress gave it to him. Now Senators and Representatives members of both parties, and the Obama Administration are playing an enormous political price.
Guests:
- Deborah Solomon: Reporter, Wall Street Journal
- Damon: Deputy Chair, TARP Congressional Oversight Panel
- Felix Salmon: Finance blogger, Reuters, @felixsalmon
- David Paul Kuhn: Chief Political Correspondent, RealClearPolitics.com
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Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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