By Gloria Romero, Jun. 23, 2014, Ocregister.com

Tone deaf? Fear of powerful special interests?

Or was it simply an overt expression of disdain for an independent judiciary and a historic court ruling on behalf of mostly poor and minority students?

To whatever it can be attributed, just days after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu issued a ruling on the unconstitutionality of five employment laws affecting teacher hiring and dismissal, including tenure, California legislators continued with business as usual. At the June 18 Senate Education Committee hearing, Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, argued for passage of Assembly Bill 1619 to expand permanent employment status (tenure) to school districts serving fewer than 250 students, currently exempted due to their small size.

It was a disturbing public display of the disconnect between Sacramento politicians and the majority of Californians, who support reform of teacher employment and dismissal laws that have made it too easy to hire ineffective teachers and too hard to fire them – even when they have committed egregious acts of criminal misconduct against kids.

Despite past efforts to reform these laws, it took nine brave children – backed by education reformers – to file a civil rights lawsuit, Vergara v. California, seeking to invalidate five laws exacerbating the inequitable access to quality teachers in California’s classrooms.

Prior to the ruling,the Gonzalez bill had sailed through the Assembly.

One might think Judge Treu’s ruling would prompt Gonzalez to halt her efforts to expand laws just ruled unconstitutional. After all, she is a talented legislator representing a significant number of poor and Latino children in her San Diego district. But prior to her election to the Legislature, she headed the San Diego labor federation and is heavily backed by the California Teachers Association. Indeed, she appeared oblivious to the ruling that has generated national attention.

In a rare setback to the teachers union, the bill failed in the Senate Education Committee – but only because two Democrats, Sens. Lou Correa of Santa Ana and Loni Hancock of Berkeley abstained, and three Republicans voted no. All other Democrats – including the committee chair – continued to pay homage to the union’s clout and voted in favor.

Nonetheless, the bill could get a reconsideration vote as early as Wednesday.