Dive Brief:

• A California judge is hearing arguments this week on the state's rules on teacher tenure, seniority, and dismissals.
• A lawsuit by the group Students Matter argues the protections for teachers violate the Constitution because they fail to ensure students an adequate education.
• If the lawsuit is successful, it could change the way teachers are hired and fired by dismantling time-consuming dismissal processes, chipping away at seniority considerations in layoffs, and extending the period of time before teachers gain job protections afforded by tenure.

Dive Insight:

One witness in this case is a name many education-watchers will know: John Deasy heads the Los Angeles Unified School District and is expected to testify in favor of repealing the statutes. In a deposition, Deasy talks about how there is too little time to decide whether to give teachers tenure and how difficult and time-consuming it can be to dismiss a teacher.