AFT Urged to Adopt Streamlined Teacher-Discipline Policy

The process for removing tenured teachers accused of crimes or malfeasance should be expedited, taking no longer than 100 days from start to finish, concludes a memorandum commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers.

Prepared by Kenneth R. Feinberg, a lawyer well known for overseeing aspects of damage payments for the 2010 BP oil spill, the proposal calls for a better screening mechanism at the district level to weed out allegations without merit. Impartial hearing examiners would hear legitimate cases and issue a binding ruling.

Though much of the proposal would rely on better documentation of evidence by districts and unions, it has implications for state legislatures, too: Many of its recommendations would probably require changes to current laws...