Tenure rights of New York teachers were the focus of heated arguments in a Brooklyn courtroom on Nov. 30 as lawyers for the UFT and other unions pressed a state appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit attacking those fundamental safeguards.

“Tenure helps ensure that teachers can do their jobs,” said Adam Ross, the UFT general counsel, after the oral arguments were completed in a courtroom of the state Appellate Division in Brooklyn. “It enables teachers to grade honestly, to speak out for their students’ needs, to teach controversial subjects and to blow the whistle on corruption and poor practices. It allows teachers to teach without fear, particularly necessary in today’s politically charged climate.”

The Partnership for Educational Justice, an organization fronted at the time by former TV personality Campbell Brown, and the New York City Parents Union filed lawsuits in 2014 seeking to overturn teacher seniority and tenure rights in New York.

Both lawsuits, which were later consolidated, were inspired by the Vergara case in California, in which a state judge struck down tenure and seniority rights. A California appeals court overturned the lower court decision in 2016, saying it was up to the Legislature to set education policy.

The Partnership for Educational Justice has pressed its case in other states as well. The group sued to challenge seniority and tenure rights in Minnesota and New Jersey; the lower courts in both states dismissed these lawsuits.

In New York, union lawyers argued that the Legislature, not the court, is the place to make any changes to tenure rights. They called the lawsuit “lobbying under the guise of litigation.”

Charles Moerdler of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, representing the New York State United Teachers and the UFT, noted that “every few years the Legislature looks at what it is that it needs to do to refine the (tenure) processes.”

Moerdler defined the essence of tenure: “It is very simple,” he said. “Before you fire me, if I have proven after four years of work that I am an effective teacher, I’ve gone through probation, I’m now tenured. Before you fire me, at least tell me why you are firing me, and give me a chance to be heard (before an independent arbitrator).”

The union lawyers noted that courts around the country have repeatedly upheld tenure as part of the education process.

“We are confident that New York’s judges will also find — after looking at all the facts — that children are better served when teachers have reasonable due-process protection,” said Ross.

A decision is expected before the end of the school year.