Teacher tenure for breathing?

NEW YORK (AP) — Do public school teachers get tenure just by breathing?

It's a claim made by a charter school leader in the education documentary "Waiting for 'Superman,'" which places much of the blame for bad schools nationwide on union rules that protect incompetent teachers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on national television last week that he would overhaul the way city teachers are granted tenure, linking their advancement to improving student test scores.

"Just as we are raising the bar for our students through higher standards, we must also raise the bar for our teachers and principals — and we are," Bloomberg said.

But city teachers say that if bad teachers have won tenure protection it's the fault of the administrators who gave it to them.

"We don't make that decision. Whoever the principal is makes that decision," said LezAnne Edmond, a Manhattan high school teacher with 15 years of experience.