A public school teacher who does not meet the requirements of a rigorous teacher evaluation system in Washington can be fired, according to a spokesman for one of the state’s largest teacher unions.
“Technically, there is no tenure in Washington,” said Rich Wood of the Washington Education Association.
Wood’s comments were in response to a California judge’s move Tuesday to strike down the state’s tenure law as unconstitutional. Also unconstitutional, the judge ruled, are laws protecting teachers based solely on seniority. The judge said such rules allowed incompetent teachers to remain in the classroom.
In Washington, there is a “continuing contract law,” Wood said. In a teacher’s first three years, the teacher works on a provisional basis and could be fired for any reason. After three years, the teacher must meet certain expectations. If the conditions aren’t met, the teacher is provided with support and eventually could be let go if their evaluations remain poor.