The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts is currently reviewing a significant case concerning teacher English fluency requirements following a dismissal from the Lowell school system. The case, Robishaw v. Lowell School Committee, involves Phanna Rem Robishaw, a native of Cambodia initially hired to teach in bilingual programs.
Background of the Dispute
For several years, Ms. Robishaw received favorable performance evaluations. However, her satisfactory record was interrupted after the state of Massachusetts began mandating specific testing for English fluency among its teachers. Subsequent to this requirement, Ms. Robishaw received an unsatisfactory rating in English fluency, which ultimately led to her dismissal.
The dispute proceeded to arbitration, where the arbitrator reinstated Ms. Robishaw. The arbitrator’s decision was subsequently challenged and reversed by a state court judge. In reversing the reinstatement, the judge reportedly described the teacher’s performance on an interview test tape as “utterly incomprehensible.”
Grounds for Appeal
The appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court centers on procedural and evidentiary arguments. Counsel for Ms. Robishaw asserts that the arbitrator had excluded the interview test tape from evidence, and consequently, the state court judge should not have considered it when reviewing the case. Furthermore, the appeal argues that the judge failed to observe the established presumption against overturning arbitration results, a critical standard in reviewing such findings.
The Underlying Statute
This case is situated against the backdrop of a voter-approved state law enacted in 2002. As noted in the Lowell Sun, the law stemmed from Massachusetts’s Question 2, which requires:
“all school superintendents to attest to the English fluency and literacy of their teachers where ‘the teacher’s fluency is not apparent through classroom observation and assessment or interview assessment.'”
The controversy surrounding English fluency requirements has historical precedent in Massachusetts. Longtime observers may recall a similar and highly publicized dispute in the 1990s involving a foreign-born teacher in Westfield, Massachusetts. That earlier controversy is widely credited as a catalyst for the adoption of Question 2 by the state’s voters. Ms. Robishaw, coincidentally, attended Westfield State College.
