Last year, Republican Govs. In each case, teachers' unions and their mostly Democratic allies have resisted sweeping reform. But in the next few weeks, Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles is expected to approve legislation that is a real step forward. And while the bill is far less ambitious than when it was originally introduced, the Florida experience and other recent developments indicate that real reform is more possible than it has been in years. The effect of even a few bad teachers in a school can be profound.
Bad teachers demoralize good teachers.
For tenure opponents, Florida provided a great opportunity. But the teachers' unions persuaded key moderate Republicans to abandon that sweeping approach. But the Florida story has one hopeful subplot. The new bill reduces from two years to 90 days the time teachers have to improve their performance before they can be fired, the shortest period in the nation. Tellingly, that change was supported by Florida's biggest teachers' union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers.