A TWO-YEAR COURT BATTLE between West Contra Costa Unified School District, three of its teachers and a public advocacy law firm has ended with a ruling that will require the school district to hire more qualified teachers.

The ruling by the California First District Court of Appeal this past Thursday overturned a 2024 decision by the Contra Costa County Superior Court, which had found in favor of the school district after its attorneys argued that it had no choice but to assign substitute teachers to classrooms because of a national teacher shortage.

The appeals court did not agree, saying West Contra Costa Unified officials failed to prove they had run out of options to fill teacher vacancies within state requirements before turning to substitutes.

“As we see it, the issue before us is simple and straightforward,” wrote the court in its judgment. “The importance of public education is beyond question — or need of justification. Central to its function is the belief that knowledge should be imparted by qualified instructors. As quoted, California law mandates the District’s duty to fill every classroom with a permanent and qualified teacher for the school year.”

The case, Cleare v. West Contra Costa Unified School District, was the first time a school district had been sued under the Williams Settlement Legislation, a 2004 agreement requiring that all public school students have access to adequate textbooks, qualified teachers and safe, clean facilities. 

“Hopefully, this will put a stop to other districts trying to ignore the mandate to put a qualified teacher in every classroom and to hide behind some broad smokescreen that there’s a statewide teacher shortage so they don’t have to comply,” said John Affeldt, of Public Advocates, who served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs on the case.

Teachers are required to have either a multiple-subject, single-subject or special education credential to teach, depending on the grade level and coursework. But school districts that can’t find a fully qualified teacher for a position can hire a teacher on emergency-style permits or waivers. 

Teachers on emergency-style permits don’t have the same training as fully certificated teachers, but the state has approved them, said Affeldt. By hiring long-term substitutes, West Contra Costa Unified was evading state oversight, he said.

Teachers complained of being overworked

The case stems from complaints filed by three teachers in 2024 alleging that the district failed to provide students with qualified teachers, resulting in teachers taking on more classes and sacrificing preparation time. 

“The WCCUSD community has faced negligence for too long,” said Sam Cleare, lead plaintiff and a teacher in West Contra Costa Unified. “By breaking the law, the district has stolen educational opportunities for thousands of children. This is a crucial step to holding our district leadership accountable and providing every child everywhere with an educator in the classroom.”

West Contra Costa Unified officials could not be reached for comment by press time.

In its response to the complaints, West Contra Costa school leaders acknowledged that the allegations were true and said that vacancies weren’t filled due to teacher transfers and late notices from teachers who left the district during the 2022-23 school year.

“By breaking the law, the district has stolen educational opportunities for thousands of children. This is a crucial step to holding our district leadership accountable and providing every child everywhere with an educator in the classroom.”
Sam Cleare, lead plaintiff

The ruling essentially approves the plaintiffs’ original petition, which demands the district fill teacher vacancies at Stege Elementary, Helms Middle School and Kennedy High School with certificated teachers whose assignments comply with state law.

It also asks the court to require the district to refrain from filling teacher vacancies at its schools with substitutes who work beyond their legal authorization, generally 30 days for short-term substitutes and 60 days for a long-term substitute. The district often used substitutes for the entire year.

Affeldt blames the large number of substitutes in classes on poor human resource practices and the reluctance to use involuntary transfers of fully credentialed teachers from non-teaching positions to help fill vacancies.

This story originally appeared in EdSource.