In Illinois, teachers ready to talk about tenure

Kevin McDermott

Teachers unions insist they aren't giving away the store in landmark education reform moving through Springfield this year that would make it harder for teachers to get tenure.

They point to other provisions -- a more open collective-bargaining system, training rules for school board members, school-by-school surveys on working conditions -- that they believe will work in teachers' favor.

But there is also a mostly unspoken incentive in what they see going on in neighboring states. Missouri and Indiana are considering virtually dismantling tenure. In Wisconsin, the very concept of collective bargaining is on life-support.

"We were engaging in this process before Wisconsin occurred," noted Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association. But he admits: "As all the parties saw what was unfolding in Wisconsin and elsewhere, it gave us further cause to come together and find common ground."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 17, 2011 2:19 AM
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