Judge Strikes Down Law Cutting Teacher Tenure

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a law cutting teacher job protections in North Carolina is unconstitutional.

Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood said Friday that veteran teachers have an established right to a layer of review beyond school administrators when they face firing.

He says the law passed by Republican lawmakers last year violates constitutional rights that protect contracts and prevents governments from taking a person's property.

North Carolina law for more than 40 years has said veteran teachers cannot be fired or demoted except for a series of listed reasons that include poor performance, immorality and insubordination.

The new law orders school districts to give the best 25 percent of teachers four-year contracts. The teachers would get pay raises totaling $5,000 but lose their tenure rights.