By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Los Angeles Daily News is urging California state lawmakers to press on with a bill to make it easier to terminate teachers accused of egregious conduct, despite the fact that a senate committee failed to pass the legislation.

AB 375 would implement a shorter timeline for teacher dismissal by significantly streamlining the process, which currently can drag on for years and cost schools hundreds of thousands in legal bills. The bill would not only result in safer schools, but would prevent dangerous educators from remaining on the public payroll any longer than necessary.

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The bill was introduced this year after similar legislation – which would have given school administrators more authority to fire teachers accused of sexual, drug-related, or violent acts with students – was defeated in the state Assembly last year at the urging of the state’s teachers unions.

AB 375, sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, gained union approval, and had already passed the state House, but became hung up in the Senate education committee last week when members narrowly voted it down with several abstentions. Education committee chairman Sen. Carol Liu recently granted a request for reconsideration, but another vote isn’t likely until 2014, the Daily News reports.

“Liu’s constituents in the 25th Senate District should be telling her not to hold up AB 375 any further. Her office indicated she could be persuaded if the bill’s supporters amended the bill to satisfy some of its lengthy list of detractors. The official opponents include the Association of California School Administrators, education agencies in seven counties, and the San Diego and San Francisco school districts,” the news site reports.

“But Buchanan’s office believes it made enough compromises already to win a 64-11 vote in the Assembly and thinks even a controversial new law would improve on the status quo and lay the groundwork for more reform. That’s absolutely correct,” the LA Daily News opines.

Many education reformers don’t believe the bill goes far enough to address the plague of sexually abusive school employees that has infected California, according to the news report.

They’re probably right.

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But as the Daily News concludes, some positive movement on the issue now is better than postponing it until later. The newspaper wants lawmakers to pass the bill then improve on it, and we think that’s the best route to meaningful reform under the circumstances.

“ … (P)assing this bill would not be seen as the end of reform. It would be momentum toward the ultimate goal of making school as safe and wholesome a place as possible for kids.” the editorial said. “Supporters and opponents should keep working to make this bill as strong as possible and get it passed.”