Teacher tenure and failed school districts bills fall in Missouri Senate

Two of the major education issues for the 2012 legislative session failed in the Missouri Senate.

The Senate rejected an effort Tuesday, April 3, to eliminate the state teacher tenure system. A day earlier, Monday, April 2, a Senate filibuster forced the chamber to cast aside a measure that would have allowed St. Louis County schools to reject students from the unaccredited St. Louis City school system.

The tenure-elimination plan was rejected 17-15 by the Senate. Under current law, a Missouri public school teacher is given automatic job protection after five years.

"People want to have reform, and we can't just walk away from this," said the proposal's sponsor, Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-St. Louis County.

Senate Education Committee Chairman David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, sponsored the move to shelve elimination of teacher tenure and said the process was going too fast.

"This has long-term ramifications for the future of Missouri," Pearce said.

Cunningham said she was surprised by the vote and described it as "terribly disappointing."

"The colleagues in the Senate put government employees ahead of students," Cunningham said when asked about the vote.

Then on Thursday, April 5, the Senate approved a different approach. On a voice vote, they approved a provision that would increase from 5 years to 10 the number of years a teacher must be employed before obtaining job-protection tenure.

The amendment was sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles.

"Moving it from five to 10 years means teachers will continue to grow and develop," Dempsey said.

The measure, given preliminary approval by the Senate, also eliminates the "last in, first out" principle for laying off teachers when budget problems force cutbacks. Under current law, layoffs start with the least senior teacher.

One major education issue did clear the Senate. It removes the two-year waiting period for the state to take over unaccredited school districts. The measure was prompted by the accreditation loss effective Jan. 1, 2012, of the Kansas City School District.