69ý

Federal

Collective Bargaining Bumping Up Against No Child Left Behind Law

By Catherine Gewertz — September 21, 2004 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

District leaders in Philadelphia, citing the federal No Child Left Behind Act, are pushing for significant cutbacks in teachers’ seniority rights.

The proposal that principals be allowed to disregard seniority in most hiring decisions has outraged the teachers’ union. For nearly 40 years, job openings for Philadelphia teachers—like those in many districts—have been filled primarily on that basis.

The unresolved dispute in the nation’s eighth-largest school system illustrates an ongoing debate about whether districts will need to seek changes in collective bargaining agreements to comply with the No Child Left Behind law.

Eugene W. Hickok, the deputy secretary of education, said in an interview last week that the U.S. Department of Education hopes local officials “uphold the content and spirit” of the law in the contracts they negotiate with teachers’ unions. He declined to outline what contracts should say about seniority rights, but said that “if a contract binds administrators from being able to assign the best teachers to the neediest areas, that would be tough.”

A number of districts have pared back seniority rights to gain more flexibility in staffing schools to help raise student achievement. (See “Districts Targeting Teacher Seniority in Union Contracts,” April 12, 2000.)

But since the federal law was signed in 2002, district leaders have increasingly cited its requirements in arguing to revise seniority provisions. Sections of the law mandating profound changes in schools that have not improved enough over a number of consecutive years—such as replacing a school’s staff—are running headlong into protections promised to teachers with seniority, they argue.

Confusion in many urban districts about how the federal law affects union contracts prompted Michael D. Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City 69ý, to seek guidance from the Education Department in February 2003.

“How much latitude a district has to reshape schools that aren’t making enough progress was clearly of concern to our members,” Mr. Casserly said in an interview. “They’re also concerned about the extent to which seniority rights exacerbate achievement gaps by placing the most seasoned teachers in the schools with the fewest challenges.”

“They are under enormous pressure to improve,” said Mr. Casserly, whose Washington-based organization is a coalition of 63 big-city districts, “and they’re working feverishly to figure out what they’re doing that serves as a drag on that performance.”

In a March 2003 letter to Mr. Casserly, Mr. Hickok, who was then the undersecretary of education, wrote that new bargaining agreements must not circumvent the school improvement mandates of the law. He cited language from a report by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce saying that the committee “expects and encourages” new contracts “to be consistent” with the No Child Left Behind law, especially the sections that outline steps to be taken when a school is put into “corrective action” or restructured.

Rob Weil, the deputy director of educational issues for the American Federation of Teachers, said local union affiliates must be aware of “potential conflicts” between the law and the contracts they negotiate. But a school put into corrective action or restructured under the No Child Left Behind Act has many options that do not necessarily require revision of seniority rights, he said.

“When someone writes a letter like [the one from Mr. Hickok], they are encouraging people, but that doesn’t carry the weight of law,” Mr. Weil said. “What we encourage locals to do is understand the law and its implications and not necessarily worry about people’s political beliefs.”

Changes Difficult

In Philadelphia, the proposed contract language says that in order to comply with the No Child Left Behind law, and to ensure an equitable distribution of experienced teachers across the city’s 264 schools, seniority rules must be changed.

Michael D. Casserly

“The real concern here is making sure that where you live doesn’t determine whether you get an experienced teacher,” said James E. Nevels, the chairman of the panel that has operated the 190,000-student district since the state took over in late 2001.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, whose members include 11,300 teachers, contends that paring back seniority will expose teachers to arbitrary or political decisionmaking, and will not ensure that experienced teachers work in the neediest schools. Philadelphia teachers lost the right to strike when the state assumed control of the school system.

“The district should entice people into the schools who want to be there by creating better learning environments,” said Barbara Goodman, a spokes woman for the aft affiliate.

Eugene W. Hickok

Julia E. Koppich, a San Francisco-based consultant who has written extensively about teachers’ unions, said that while she believes seniority rights in assignment should ease, she is wary of giving sole authority for hiring decisions to principals. Teams of teachers should share that power, she said.

Significant revisions in seniority rights could backfire by driving away teachers unhappy with their school assignments, said Jack Jennings, the director of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based advocacy group. But to call for protection of strong seniority rights could be politically awkward for the unions, he said.

"[The national unions] talk about how they want to help poor kids and how unions are important to helping them,” he said, “but if a union agreement allows better-quality teachers to transfer away from schools with [large concentrations of] poor kids, that would seem to call into question the rhetoric.”

Associate Editor Jeff Archer contributed to this report.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal Video Linda McMahon: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Choice for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former pro-wrestling CEO Linda McMahon to lead the education department.
1 min read
Federal The K-12 World Reacts to Linda McMahon, Trump's Choice for Education Secretary
Some question her lack of experience in education, while supporters say her business background is a major asset.
7 min read
Linda McMahon, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Linda McMahon speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee. McMahon has been selected by President-elect Trump to serve as as the next secretary of education.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates—and detractors—see a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal 5 Things to Know About Linda McMahon, Trump's Pick for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump’s selection, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment has long spoken favorably about school choice.
7 min read
Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Oct. 3, 2018.
Linda McMahon speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Oct. 3, 2018, when she was serving as head of the Small Business Administration during President Trump's first administration. McMahon is now President-elect Trump's choice for U.S. secretary of education.
Susan Walsh/AP