Taking Teacher Quality Seriously

73 Pages Posted: 21 May 2016

See all articles by Derek W. Black

Derek W. Black

University of South Carolina - School of Law

Date Written: March 19, 2016

Abstract

Although access to quality teachers is one of the most important aspects of a quality education, explicit concern with teacher quality too often has been conspicuously absent from past litigation over the right to education. Instead, past litigation has focused more on the broader question of funding. Though that litigation has narrowed gross funding gaps between schools in many states, it has not been enough to change what matters most: access to quality teachers.

This Article proposes that courts ensure access to quality teaching rather than the more amorphous right to adequate educational opportunities. The recent constitutional challenge to tenure suggests a theoretical step in this direction, but the focus on teacher tenure alone is misplaced. Eliminating tenure, without addressing more important fundamental challenges for the teaching profession, may just make matters worse. Thus, this Article argues for a broader intervention strategy that focuses on whether states equally distribute existing quality teachers and whether states take the various steps necessary to ensure the supply of quality teachers.

Keywords: quality teacher, quality education, equal education, adequate education, school funding

Suggested Citation

Black, Derek W., Taking Teacher Quality Seriously (March 19, 2016). William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2782151

Derek W. Black (Contact Author)

University of South Carolina - School of Law ( email )

1525 Senate Street
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

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