The California State Supreme Court decided the case Vergara v. California Monday, Oct. 17, sustaining traditional job protections for teachers across the state,

Nine students from Los Angeles Unified School District sued the state of California in April 2014, on the basis that educator job protections, which were claimed to allow ineffective teachers to maintain their positions, infringed upon students’ educational rights.

The students – including Elizabeth and Beatriz Vergara, the case’s namesakes – argued that Article IX of the California State Constitution, which outlines educational procedures of the state, guarantees students’ rights to a substantial education.

These students opposed teacher tenure, a policy restricting the ability to fire teachers who have successfully completed an initial trial period at their respective schools. For most teachers, tenure can be earned after three years of reviewing and vetting by a school. College professors, however, are usually only eligible for tenure after five years.

“The genesis of tenure is academic freedom,” social science teacher Robert Hall said. “It’s about protecting the right of teachers to teach the subject area that they are experts in without interference from the powers that might have a political agenda for why they don’t want that subject taught.”

After a two-month trial, the Los Angeles County State Superior Court ruled in favor of Vergara, agreeing that customary job protections proved to be unconstitutional.

The state of California then appealed to the Second District Court of Appeal, based in Los Angeles. The three-judge panel, after reviewing the evidence, overturned the decision and deemed job securities as constitutional.

Vergara appealed to the California State Supreme Court after this decision. The court declined to hear the case in a 4-3 vote and allowed the previous ruling to stand, finalizing  the notion that teacher job protections were constitutional.

“I definitely felt like they were going to try to get rid of [job protections] or at least reform it, just because it’s something that’s been such a back-burner issue and usually California tends to be more liberal and more into change,” senior Noah Garfinkle said. “I was surprised, but at the same time I could definitely see that the teacher’s union still has a big impact.”

With the final ruling, many are left wondering if any further action will be taken to protect or challenge these job securities.

“If you’re really concerned about the quality of teachers, you’d have to engender more respect for the profession and more pay,” social science teacher Victor Anderson said. “Because in America, it seems like people respect pay.”