Steinberg wants protections for teachers in poor schools

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Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) introduced legislation Monday that would cap the number of layoffs for teachers in the poorest schools.

At a news conference in a Sacramento elementary school, Steinberg said the current system of layoffs, which is largely based on teacher seniority, disproportionately affects the state’s less affluent schools, which often have teachers with less experience.

Steinberg said this was ‘not a union versus management issue,’ though unions have been among the supporters of the seniority system in the past.

Under Steinberg’s proposal, SB 1285, the poorest 30% of schools in a district could not have any more layoffs than the district average.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento