Can a lawsuit by nine students topple teacher tenure? | PBS NewsHour: MEGAN THOMPSON: Sisters Beatriz and Elizabeth Vergara attend public high school in a low-income, mostly Hispanic section of northern Los Angeles. The girls are aiming for college, and would be the first in the family with higher degrees.
But the Vergara sisters say that in middle school, they faced obstacles in pursuing their education – chaotic classrooms and little to no instruction. Elizabeth, now a junior, and Beatriz, a sophomore, say back in 7th grade, they both had a particularly bad history teacher.
ELIZABETH VERGARA: He would just be at his desk. Like, just using his computer or sleeping. And students were just using their magazines and he wouldn’t care. They would be throwing food or, like, stuff. And I didn’t even learn anything. Like, I was getting behind.
BEATRIZ VERGARA: And he would let students smoke marijuana -
MEGAN THOMPSON: They were smoking marijuana in class?
BEATRIZ VERGARA: Yeah. I know, it’s hard to believe.
MEGAN THOMPSON: Beatriz also says a science teacher was offensive.
