The Illinois Supreme Court ruled 5-2 this morning that the Chicago Public Schools don't have to rehire tenured CPS teachers they laid off when positions become available.

The case concerned CTU's argument that, “Tenured teachers are entitled to fill vacant positions over new hires off the street who have no classroom experience," according to CTU attorney Tom Geohegan, who spoke to PI in December. CTU is upset that CPS lays off tenured teachers because of school closings, turnarounds or budget concerns, and then hires inexperienced teachers when positions open up. CTU also contends that CPS inaccurately characterized many laid off teachers as poorly performing.

The ruling comes six days before the Chicago Board of Education could approve a new round of school closings and turnarounds, which, if approved, will lead to more layoffs of tenured teachers.