Legislation that would remove bad teachers from schools moves forward at the capitol.
A legislative committee votes in favor of the "Every Child Deserves a Great Teacher Bill" ( AB-670 ).
"For the first time in at least 20 years the legislature's advanced a bill making it easier to fire a bad teacher."
Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is a sponsor of the bill. He cites an example in his district where over $200,000 was spent so far, trying to remove a teacher who watched pornography on a school computer. He's been trying for several years to make it easier to fire bad teachers.
"The teachers union, of course, will always fight to keep bad teachers, but we hope other members of the legislature will put the school children first."
Grothman says a child's academic growth can really be stunted without a quality teacher in the classroom. But it's just too hard to get rid of the bad apples.
"If you talk to school administrators or school board members, one of their primary frustrations is the inability to remove bad teachers from our schools."
Grothman is waiting for the Senate Education Committee to hold a hearing on their version of the bill ( SB-383 ). The Assembly Education Reform Committee voted 4 to 2 on the measure. He's hopeful there'll be a vote on the Assembly floor yet this session.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report (1:11 MP3)
