Students Taking Control Of Their Education

It is significant when students take the quality of their education in their own 

hands. Here's what a group of students with the help of Students Matter 
recently did in California to make a difference.  Read this lawsuit and 
follow this case closely.

OVERVIEW

Students  Matter  is  a  national  non profit  organization  dedicated  to  
sponsoring  impact litigation to  promote access to quality  public  education. 
Students  Matter’s  first  case is Vergara  v.  California, a  statewide education 
equality lawsuit filed by nine California public school  students from districts 
around  the  state.

Vergara  v.  California seeks to  strike  down  the  outdated  and  harmful  

state  laws preventing California  from  embracing  a  teacher  career  system  

that elevates teacher  quality,  raises  the prestige of  the  teaching  profession 

and  promotes  equal access  to  quality education  for  all  students

Why  California?

Students  Matter chose  to  sponsor  its  first  case against  the  state  of  

California  because California  public  schools  have  fallen inexcusably far  

behind  the  rest  of  the  nation, both in academic achievement  and in  progress 

toward  embracing  proven  ways  of  raising  student success

Why  focus  on  teachers?

Students  Matter  believes  in  the  power  of  a  good  teacher. Research  

shows  that  quality teachers make the difference not  only  in  students’  

academic performance  but  also  in lifetime  achievement. Quality  teachers  

are  the  foundation  of  a  quality education. Yet,  five state  laws  in  California  

restrict  access  to  quality  teachers, particularly from our most vulnerable  

students who  need  quality  teachers  the  most.    

Why  litigation?    

When  specific  laws violate  the fundamental,  Constitutional  rights of  our 

children, the  judicial system is the  only  way  forward.  The courts offer  

a unique opportunity to put politics and rhetoric aside, focus on the  facts,  

and do what is truly best for students.

For more information on go to: Students Matter 

info@studentsmatter.org

@Students_Matter

FIRST CASE

With  the  help  of  Students  Matter,  n

ine  California  public  school  students

from  districts  around  

the  state

filed  

Vergara  v.  California

against  the  State  of  California

in  May  2012.

In  May  2013,  

the  stat

e’s  two  largest  teachers  unions,  

the  Califor

nia  Teachers  Association  and  the  California  

Federation  of  Teachers,  

intervened  in  the  case  to  defend  the  statutes

.  

The  

California  Superior  Court  for  Los  Angeles  County  has  allocated  

four  full  weeks  for  the  

Vergara  v.  California

trial,

beginning  on  January  27,  2014.  

By  removing  outdated  barriers  to  progress,  

Vergara  v.  California

will  create  an  opportunity  for  

all  integral  education  stakeholders

to  come  together  to  create  a  modern,  fair  and  empowering  

teacher  career  system.

The  case  

challenges  five  statutes  of  the  Education  Code

that,  separately  and  together,  

push

some  of  our  best  teachers  out  

of  the  classroom  and  entrench

grossly

ineffective  teachers  in  our  

schools,  

creating  

an  arbitrary,  unjustifiable  and  unconstitutional  inequality

among  students:

•

Permanent  Employment  Statut

e,

which  effectively  guarantee

s

all  teachers  

permanent  employment  after  only  18  months  on  the  job  a

nd  meaningless  evaluations

;

•

Dismissal  Statute

s,

which  create  a  nearly  insurmountable  set  of  obstacles  for  school  

administrators  to  dismiss  a  single  ineffective  teacher;  and

•

Last

-­‐

in,  First  Out  Statute,

which  forces  school  districts  to  make  decisions  about  

district

-­‐

wide  layoffs  and  subsequent  reassignments  based  solely  on  teacher  seniority,  

with  no  consideration  for  performance  in  the  classroom.  

TEAM

Founder

:

S

tudents  Matter  founder  

David  F.  Welch  currently  serves  as  

the  President

of

a  high

-­‐

tech  company  in  Silicon  Valley

.  

Dave  is

a  parent  of  three  children

and  

has  been  engaged  with  

bringing  positive  change  to  

public  education  for  more  than  a  decade

.

Legal

:

Theodore  B.  Olson

,

Theodore  J.  Boutrous,  

and  Marcellus  McRae,  

partners  at  Gibson,  

Dunn  &  Crutcher,  head  the  legal  team  for  Students  Matter.  A  former  U.S.  Solicitor  General,  Mr.  

Olson  has  twice  received  the  U.S.  Department  of  Justice’s  highest  award  for  public  service  and  

le

adership.  Mr.  Boutrous  has  been  named  one  of  the  100  best  lawyers  in  California  for  

eight

consecutive  years.  

Prior  to  joining  Gibson,  Dunn  &  Crutcher,  Mr.  McRae  served  as  an  Assistant  

U.S.  Attorney  in  Los  Angeles.  

Combined,  Mr.  Olson  and  Mr.  Boutrous  have  

argued  

over  

60  cases  

before  the  U.S.  Supreme  Court

,  most  recently

,  

the  federal  challenge  invalidating  California’s  

prohibition  on  same

-­‐

sex  marriage,  Proposition  8

.  

Communications

:

The  issue  advocacy  firm  G

riffin|Schein  manages  all  communications,  

coaliti

on

building  and  strategy  for  Students  Matter.

Griffin|Schein

develops  and  manages

issue  

advocacy  campaigns

for  

leading  foundations,  

nonprofit

organizations  and  philanthropists

and  

specializes  in  communications  around  impact  litigation.  Most  prominently,  

Griffin|Schein  

developed  and  executed  

the  communications  

s

trategy  supporting  the  marriage  equality  lawsuit  

that  struck  down  California’s  

Proposition  8  

and  

the  advocacy  campaign  

for  gun  violence  

reduction  

employed  by  Sandy  Hook  Promise  in  the  wake  of  the  Newtow

n  school  sh