Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure Introduction Teacher Tenure in California The Initiative Official Voter Information Challenge to Initiative Key Websites Public Opinion Reports and Studies Newspaper Articles See also the related Hot Topic: California Education Funding January 2006

LIBRARY Institute of Governmental Studies University of California 109 Moses Hall #2370  Berkeley, CA 94720-2370  510-642-1472 (voice)  510-643-0866 (fax) Statewide Returns from the California Secretary of State: Prop. 74: Support 44.8%, Oppose 55.2%

Introduction

In his State of the State speech in January 2005, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced an ambitious set of reforms for education in California (see IGS Hot Topic, California Education Funding). Two initiatives on the Nov. 8 special election ballot carry forward aspects of this plan: the teacher tenure and school funding initiatives. Under current law teachers can become tenured after two years probation. The new proposal would extend the probation period to five years and expand the conditions under which permanent employees may be dismissed. Critics of the proposal claim it is an attack on teachers and will create teacher shortages in an already small pool of educators. Supporters of the proposition claim it will eliminate bad teachers who hide behind the tenure system and boost students' academic achievement.

California was the first state in the country to establish teacher tenure law in 1921. Current state law mandates that teachers gain tenure in California after completing a two-year probationary period during which time they can be dismissed for poor performance by their school district. (see Education Code, Sec. 4929.20-44929.29). Once tenured, teachers gain a degree of security in their positions and can be dismissed only for just cause. State law dictates conditions under which a tenured teacher can be dismissed including unsatisfactory performance or misconduct. Low student achievement is not included as a condition for dismissal, a fact that critics have pointed to as a cause for continued low student performance in the state. In addition to dismissal conditions, state law specifies that a governing board must give written notice to an employee before initiating dismissal proceedings for unsatisfactory performance. The notice, including "specific instances of behavior" must be given to the employee three months prior to filing the charge. The law also mandates that the employee may request an administrative hearing within 30 days of receiving the notice.

Education activists believe that tenure is an important safeguard that protects teachers from unfair disciplinary actions. Proponents of the current system also say that it is the only way to insure there will be enough teachers to instruct the more than 6 million students currently enrolled in California public schools. Critics of the current tenure system believe that the law has allowed bad or unfit teachers to hide behind tenure, adversely affecting students' performance. They point to recent studies that find that California currently ranks near the bottom of educational attainment.

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Background Reading

Fact Book 2005. California Dept. of Education, 2005.
"Statistics and information on a variety of subjects concerning education in California."

The Initiative

On March 1, 2005, Gov. Schwarzengger formally endorsed the Put the Kids First Act, a proposal submitted by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia (R-Cathedral City). The Put Kids First Act qualified for the ballot on June 6, 2005. The plan would change the current tenure law in several ways. It would raise the amount of time new teachers must wait before they are covered by job protection rules from two years to five years for a certified position. It would also allow the school district to dismiss an employee after two consecutive unsatisfactory performance evaluations.

Proponents of the proposition claim that the Put the Kids First Act would allow school districts to fire teachers who consistently perform below expectations, thereby increasing student achievement in the state. They also believe that the act will allow school districts to dismiss teachers without the costly investment it now takes to fire a tenured teacher. Critics of the proposal say that the act will keep away teachers who will fear the five year probation term. In a state where school districts are already struggling to recruit teachers, they say that students will actually be hurt by increased class size resulting from fewer teachers.

Official Voter Information

Official Voter Information Guide

Campaign Finance:
Individual Campaign Committees
Total Contributions and Expenditures (select "Nov. 2005 election" and "Prop. 74" in dropdown boxes)

Challenge to Initiative

In early October, the California Teachers Association released several advertisements attacking Proposition 74 (Teacher Tenure). The ads claim that the initiative, if passed, would allow teachers to be fired "without giving a reason or even a hearing,". The Schwarzenegger administration counters that teachers would have to be given two unsatisfactory job evaluations for dismissal. They have asked California television stations to stop running the ads. The teachers association claims that the proposition's wording would allow a teacher to be dismissed without a hearing, although teachers could seek a hearing after dismissal. No television stations have commented on the ads or taken them off the air so far.

Key Websites

Better California
Anti-Prop. 74 site from Alliance for a Better California

California Federation of Teachers

California Governor's Office

California Teachers Association

Join Arnold
Schwarzenegger site supporting Prop. 74

League of Women Voters
Prop. 74 site.

CA Propositions 75, 76, 77 Defeated; Propositions 73, 74 Could Go Either Way. SurveyUSA, Election Poll #7443, Nov. 7, 2005.

Knowledge Networks 2005 Election Survey. Palo Alto, Hoover Institute, Nov. 7, 2005.

Schwarzenegger Propositions Still Trailing: Three of four ballot initiatives backed by Governor are behind
and Proposition 75 is now in a dead heat. Support for both prescription drug initiatives falls. Polimetrix poll, Nov. 6, 2005.

Propositions 75, 76 and 77 appear to be losing; Voters divided on proposition 74. Los Angeles Times Poll, Nov. 2, 2005.

Propositions 73, 74, 75, 77 Losing Ground. Survey USA, Election Poll #7362, Nov. 1, 2005.

"NO side leads YES side on all four of the propositions backed by Governor Schwarzenegger," Field Poll, Release 2174, Nov. 1, 2005.

Knowledge Networks 2005 Election Survey. Palo Alto, Hoover Institute, Oct. 17, 2005.
Methodology and results of survey one
Methodology and results of survey two

Baldassare, Mark.
PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Californians and the Initiative Process. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, October 2005.

Baldassare, Mark.
Special Survey on Californians and the Initiative Process. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, Public Policy Institute, September 2005

"Prop. 75 continues to lead by big margin: strong tide running against prop. 76: Yes vote dropping on Prop. 74: narrow sentiment against prop. 77: divided vote on Prop. 80," Field Poll, Release 2168, Sept. 5, 2005.

Baldassare, Mark.
PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Californians and the Initiative Process. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, August 2005.

"Schwarzenegger's Special Election Initiatives: More voters inclined to vote no on Governor's state spending/school funding and redistricting initiatives. Majority favors school teachers tenure changes.," Field Poll, Release 2159, June 22, 2005.

Baldassare, Mark.
PPIC Statewide Survey: Special survey on education. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, April 2005.

Reports and Studies

Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure: 2005 Special Election Analyses, USC CAlifornia Policy Institute, Oct. 2005.
Analysis
Summary Points

Proposition 74: Waiting Period for Permanent Teaching Status and Dismissal Procedures. Mountain View: EdSource, 2005.

Carroll, Stephen J., et al...
California's K-12 public schools: How are they doing? Santa Monica: Rand Corporation, Jan. 2005.

California's 2005 K-12 Education Primer. Los Angeles, Calif. : Reason Public Policy Institute, 2005.

Unsatisfactory Performance: How California's K-12 education system protect mediocrity and how teacher quality can be improved. San Francisco, Calif. : Pacific Research Institute, 2000.

Lopez, Steve [Opinion].
"Governor Took Low Road on Education," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 9, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Fausset, Richard.
"Governor Was on Their Mind, No Matter How They Voted," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 9, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Hull, Dana.
"Longer teacher tenure falls short: Educators ecstatic over hard-fought victory against governor," San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 9, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Asimov, Nanette.
"Teachers: Measure to extend job probation from 2 to 5 years apparently is being rejected," San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 9, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Esola, Louise
"Officials say it's not easy to fire a bad teacher," North County Times, Nov. 3, 2005.
North County Times

Salladay, Robert.
"Gov. Has Label for Unions: Liar. Stumping in friendly GOP strongholds, Schwarzenegger says opponents are misrepresenting his slate of initiatives," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 2, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Finnegan, Michael.
"Voters Dislike 3 of Governor's Ballot Measures: His initiatives on state spending, redistricting and unions are all in trouble, reflective of his declining popularity. A tenure issue is a tossup," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 2, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Hull, Dana.
"Teachers view 3 initiatives as threats: Governor's reforms seen as attacks on job security, budget," San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 31, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Chance, Amy.
"Ballot measure ads deliver a personal pitch to voters," Sacramento Bee, Oct. 31, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Gledhill, Lynda.
"Governor's ballot not faring well: Poll finds support for measures weak," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 28, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

[Opinion].
"Prop. 74: Pass/fail tests for teachers," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 23, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

"Unions' new ad directly attacks governor," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 19, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Jordan, Sheila.
"Changing the rules on teacher tenure: PROP. 74: Is this education reform? This plan will drive away teachers," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 19, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Fortune, Margaret G.
"Changing the rules on teacher tenure: PROP. 74: Is this education reform? Work rules need to put kids first," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 19, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Mendel, Ed.
"Governor, teachers battle over Prop. 74," San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 13, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

[Opinion].
"Stop the Schwarzenegger power grab. Yes on 79, no on 78. Sandoval for assessor. Complete recommendations for the Nov. 8 election," San Francisco Bay Guardian, Oct. 13, 2005.
San Francisco Bay Guardian

Chance, Amy.
"Drafting issue in tenure measure: Backers of Prop. 74 deny it could yank permanent status of 18,000 teachers," Sacramento Bee, Oct. 12, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

[Opinion].
"Times endorsement: Stormy Tenure," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 12, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Rosenhall, Laurel.
"Education plan faces voter test: Governor sees better hires; union groups say people will leave field," Sacramento Bee, Oct. 10, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Yost, Phil [Opinion].
"Many fair digs at prop. 74, so why get fuzzy on the truth?" San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 9, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Williams, Juliette.
"Governor's campaign asks stations to pull anti-74 ads," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 6, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Gledhill, Lynda.
"Ad Watch – Prop. 74," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 6, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Hull, Dana.
"Prop. 74 takes on teacher tenure," San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 4, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Asimov, Nanette.
"Teacher job security fuels Prop. 74 battle: Unions, governor at odds over 5-year probation period," San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 30, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Gledhill, Lynda.
"Voters unhappy with governor, his initiatives -- poll: 55% disapprove of job he is doing, none of his measures in survey top 43% approval," San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 29, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Rau, Jordan.
"Powerful Teachers Union Is in the Thick of Ballot Battles," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 28, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Schrag, Peter [Opinion].
"The governor makes the election choices easy," Sacramento Bee, Sept. 28, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Furillo, Andy.
"State worker unions flexing muscle: They're spending millions to thwart governor and his ballot measures," Sacramento Bee, Sept. 26, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Wildermuth, Johm; Marinucci, Carla.
"Business, labor ante up in play for power: Public employee unions donate $60 million to fight against governor's ballot measures," San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 26, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Salladay, Robert; Morain, Dan.
"Gov. Donates $1.25 Million, Backs 6 Initiatives," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 24, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Varian, Hal R.
"Tenure, Turnover and the Quality of Teaching," New York Times, Sept. 22, 2005.
ProQuest

Rohrlich, Ted.
"Activists Try to Knock Out Ballot Propositions: Volunteers statewide go door to door and urge voters to defeat measures 74, 75 and 76, which they say harm teachers and unions," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 11, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Gledhill, Lynda.
"Governor's initiatives losing public support: Schwarzenegger has hard sell ahead," San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 5, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Marinucci, Carla
"Governor's numbers fall even lower in poll: none of his ballot measures wins majority backing," San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 25, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Morain, Dan; Vogel, Nancy.
"2005 political fundraising at $226 million: National drug firms supporting Prop. 78 on the fall ballot lead the way in candidates' and causes' efforts to build war chests," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 2, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Helfand, Duke; Rubin, Joel.
"Q&A Teacher performance: Prop. 74 Would Streamline Firing Process," Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Raine, George.
"Trying times for unions nationally, locally: California labor groups gear up to defeat three initiatives on November's ballot," San Francisco Chronicle, July 27, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

[Opinion]
"Governor needs to hire, not fire, teachers," San Bernardino Sun, June 27, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Asimov, Nanette.
"Many voters frustrated over tenure for teachers," San Francisco Chronicle, June 23, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Delsohn, Gary.
"No tough talk as measures trail: The governor takes some responsibility for the partisan rift that led to initiatives," Sacramento Bee, June 22, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Wildermuth, John.
"Voters cool toward 2 of 3 ballot initiatives," San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

[Opinion]
"Don't blame teachers," The Sun (San Bernardino, CA), June 20, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Underwood, Brandy and Cabrera, Marc.
"Education plan blasted," Monterey County Herald, June 19, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Freedberg, Louis. [Opinion]
"Carrot or stick for new teachers?," San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Tucker, Jill.
"Teacher tenure reform makes ballot," Inside Bay Area, June 8, 2005.
Inside Bay Area

Furillo, Andy.
"Initiatives on unions, teachers set: The two measures qualify for the next ballot," Sacramento Bee, June 7, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Bluth, Alexa H.
"Onstage at schools: Political theater: Some warn that children shouldn't be props; others see visits as educational," Sacramento Bee, May 29, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Gledhill, Lynda.
"Governor's allies drop teacher pay initiative: Merit proposal was 'lagging': 3 other measures still in play," San Francisco Chronicle, May 7, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Delsohn, Gary.
"Schwarzenegger hands in first petitions," Sacramento Bee, May 5, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Zaragoza, Luis.
"Teacher merit pay debate: California in a rush, Denver more deliberate," San Jose Mercury News, May 4, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Martin Mark; Gledhill, Lynda.
"Special election push costly for governor, foes: No holds barred in effort to win public support for initiatives, counter-initiatives," San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2005.
San Francisco Chronicle

Drucker, David M.
"Scott accused of backpedaling," Los Angeles Daily News, May 3, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Hull, Dana.
"Initiatives take aim at tenure, wage system," San Jose Mercury News, May 3, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Furillo, Andy.
"Ballot drive called a success: Three measures will qualify for a special election, governor says," Sacramento Bee, May 2, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Benson, Clea.
"Teachers put governor in the corner: Unions are spending millions to rip Schwarzenegger proposals," Sacramento Bee, Apr. 13, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Nicholas, Peter and Salladay, Robert.
"Gov. Making a Quiet Retreat: Schwarzenegger is publicly upbeat about his agenda, but political realities have tripped up his bold proposals for revamping government," Los Angeles Times, Apr. 10, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Burrell, Jackie.
"Merit pay proposals sparse in details: Tying teachers' pay to students' test scores has worked in Denver, but could cost $2.2 billion here," Contra Costa Times, Mar. 20, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Burrell, Jackie.
"Petition drives gear up in state for special-election measures," San Gabriel Valley Tribune (West Covina, CA), Mar. 14, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Furillo, Andy.
"Ballot plans get a boost: A business group backs pension shift, teacher tenure issues," Sacramento Bee, Mar. 1, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

Herdt, Timm.
"Study shows schools are in crisis," Ventura County Star, Jan. 4, 2005.
NewsBank (UCB)

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Prepared by the staff of the IGS Library. Send comments to igsl@uclink.berkeley.edu.