Last week, New York’s state Senate proposed a bill that would correct a longstanding problem in public education by eliminating the outdated and harmful policy commonly known as “Last in, first out.”
LIFO dictates how teachers are laid off — mandating that the last teacher hired must be the first fired, regardless of how good they are. Thus, a teacher’s effectiveness with students now plays absolutely no role in layoff decisions.
When this policy is folded into the current budget crisis, our children stand to lose some of the best teachers in the state unless we work quickly to completely erase LIFO altogether.
The Senate bill would allow New York City to address budget gaps without stripping schools of their best teachers. District leaders could base their difficult decisions about layoffs on performance — no longer having to reward practices such as chronic lateness, absenteeism or misconduct, or ignore criminal and disciplinary charges or a consistent inability to advance student growth or keep teaching certifications current.
The city alone stands to lose 4,700 teachers this year as Mayor Bloomberg works to fill a giant budget gap while also maintaining effective city services. And right now, it will have to conduct layoffs according to LIFO.
Under Bloomberg and former Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, the city showed significant strides in student achievement in recent years. But if Albany leaves LIFO in place, much of these gains will be lost as New York’s best teachers are swept from schools without regard for their incredible impact on children.
Why is LIFO so bad for kids? First, research indicates that when districts conduct seniority-based layoffs, we end up firing some of our most highly effective educators. These are the inspiring and powerful teachers that students remember for the rest of their lives.
Second, LIFO policies increase the number of teachers that districts must lay off. Because junior teachers make less money, schools will lose more teachers and more jobs as long as LIFO remains the law.
Finally, LIFO hits hardest at the highest-need schools. These schools have larger numbers of new teachers, who are the first to lose their jobs in a layoff. High-income areas, which have more stable systems and fewer newer teachers, are less impacted by budget cuts.
As a former teacher with almost 20 years in the field, I’ve heard from thousands of students and families whose lives changed completely thanks to one great teacher. We must not disregard the impact these great teachers have had on our kids by allowing this policy to continue — not during this financial crisis, not ever.
Last December, I launched StudentsFirst, a national movement to defend the rights of children in public education. Our first major initiative is a Save Great Teachers campaign, in which we’re urging states to make policy changes that can rid the public schools of harmful LIFO policies.
I applaud Senate Education Committee Chairman John Flanagan for sponsoring this bill and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos for his leadership in advancing it. They’re taking an important step to hold districts, the city and themselves accountable for providing children the quality education they deserve.
Passage of their bill will allow the largest school system in the country to be an example of how to responsibly get through a financial crisis, while holding on to the best teachers.
Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of the Washington, DC, public schools, is CEO and founder of StudentsFirst.org.