Teachers' rights: Court ruling keeps North Carolina true to its word on promised protection

The state Supreme Court ruled last week that the General Assembly violated the state Constitution by taking away protections veteran teachers had been promised for decades.

The measure had been pushed by Republicans in the statehouse who believed tenure kept poor teachers in the classroom.

The belief is certainly true in some cases, but not in all, and the court unanimously ruled that it was not fair to do away with the protection that had been promised since the early 1970s.

The court did rule, however, that new teachers can be kept from earning the same protections. Their decision in favor of the older teachers was based on contractual law.

There are, to be sure, many poor teachers kept in the classroom by tenure. We have known some.

But to take away the rights promised by lawmakers for years wasn't fair to the majority of teachers, most of whom have earned the protection of tenure.

Teaching is a crucial job. One not many of us would take on. The state needs to do whatever it can to keep good teachers in the classroom.

Published in Editorials on April 18, 2016 11:55 AM