Court rules in favor of teachers: School year will not be extended

The National Labor Court rejected the Education Ministry’s demand to extend the school year by nine days.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
A picture shows the entrance to the Gymnasia Rehavia high school in Jerusalem on May 29, 2020.The school has been closed after eleven students and seven staff members have been diagnosed with Covid-19. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
A picture shows the entrance to the Gymnasia Rehavia high school in Jerusalem on May 29, 2020.The school has been closed after eleven students and seven staff members have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Middle and high schools have ended, and preschools and elementary schools will end their year on June 30, according to a court ruling on Friday. However, free "summer school" will begin for grades 1-4 on July 1.
The National Labor Court rejected the Education Ministry’s demand to extend the school year by nine days.
The court ruled that there was no good reason to require teachers to alter their contracts and teach the extra days “only because of possible consequences that could be resolved in other ways.”
The Education Ministry immediately responded to the court decision, saying it has been in touch with the Teachers’ Union and that summer school would start immediately on July 1 and run through August 1 for students in grades 1-4. Teaching staff could work in the framework for additional pay.
“Summer school will allow students to complete any gaps created due to the coronavirus,” Education Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement, noting that this alternative will also allow the economy to continue operating and help the country financially and socially.
“The local authorities, Finance and Education ministries will convene to complete an outline for the summer school program with a sense of responsibility and vision for the good of the child and their parents,” said Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities Haim Bibas on Friday.
Bibas said the state would fully fund the program without cost to parents.
 Earlier in the day on Friday, the state sought to push off the court decision until Saturday night, but the court said it had no intention of postponing the decision until the end of Saturday and made its decision just before the beginning of Shabbat.
Last week, Gallant announced that a decision had been reached and that elementary and preschools would remain open until July 13 to help make up the nine days of school that were missed in March, when the country shut down to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In a briefing, he explained that an agreement was struck between the Teachers’ Union and the Finance and Education ministries to add the extra days.
Per the agreement, grades 7-10 would have ended school on July 1, while 11th and 12th graders would complete their matriculation exams between June 22 and 27.
However, the agreement was not signed by the Teachers’ Association, whose head Ron Erez refused to come to the negotiating table. The Teachers’ Union represents the younger grades and the Teachers’ Association represents the older grades.
The agreement that was signed stipulated that if, in the end, high school teachers did not agree to extend the year, the preschools and elementary school teachers would not either.
Gallant told reporters on Sunday that the Education Ministry has the “tools” to ensure that teachers show up for class if a scenario arrives in which they refuse to do so, but Erez said he would take the matter to court, which he did.
“The signed agreement enshrined the full payment of all teaching staff in the civil service and established the principle of equality among all teaching staff in the education system,” the Teachers’ Union said in a statement following Friday’s ruling.