In the past couple of years, Florida school teacher have protested a teacher merit pay law that they claimed would be punitive towards them. Their efforts died earlier this year though when Governor Rick Scott signed SB 736 into law.
The state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, isn't done fighting against it, however, and Wednesday morning announced they are challenging its constitutionality in Leon County Circuit Court.
The head of the FEA, Andy Ford says the legislation changed the teaching profession in the state, and that the state Legislature did it while ignoring teachers and other school officials. He maintains that the changes approved by the legislature and the governor should have been collectively bargained between school districts, and thus his union has "no other recourse," other than to go the litigation route.
This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2011.