By DFER Federal Policy Director Charles Barone
Exhibit 1: SB 7, an omnibus package of reforms recently passed into law by the Illinois legislature that initially gained the support of the state’s two major teacher unions.
Because the bill touched on issues like the right to strike and tenure, and because both teachers unions in the state endorsed it, the bill was hailed by many (including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan) as a national model of both process and policy.
Unfortunately, about a minute after they told their “partners” that they had a deal, the two major teachers unions who endorsed the bill withdrew support. The Chicago Teachers Union actively opposed SB 7. The Illinois Education Association changed from support to “neutral.” The Illinois State Board of Education, an active partner in the negotiations, under apparent pressure also began to walk their support back saying that had “concerns.” To everyone else’s credit, the bill moved forward despite all the double-dealing.
Of course, the whole point of negotiating is that one compromises with others who have different starting positions in the hope of a deal all can live with and will hold to from there on out. As they’ve done often in the past, the unions show that a promise made is a promise broken and as a result, they get to have it both ways: offer a partnership, negotiate hard, make a deal, pause to receive praise, then renege so that they start negotiations all over again.
Even if the reforms in the new Illinois law are as robust as some claim (and my read of the 100 page bill leaves a lot of room for doubt), all kinds of things can happen if those responsible for carrying it out are under pressure from both the unions and the state board to water it down. As AFT President Randi Weingarten has said, “Implementation is where reform dies.” Now that the law is on the books, those who want the law to succeed to its utmost potential have to understand that this is the beginning, not the end, of the fight. What we all need to follow closely is whether these much lauded policies result in a more effective Illinois teaching force, a more equitable distribution of highly effective teachers and, most important, real gains in student achievement that lead to college and career readiness.
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Cartoon by Andrew Hart, freelance artist and co-founder of the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society.
To see more of his artwork, visit his website here www.andrewjhart.com
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