NYC Shuts Down Infamous 'Rubber Rooms'

This week marks the official end of rubber rooms, the holding areas where teachers who are accused of misconduct or incompetence while away their weekdays, continuing to pull full salaries (which we covered here in April).

The city and teachers unions made good on their agreement to disband the system that's been held up as an embarrassing example of the byzantine bureaucracy of the education system.

This Monday, as students began their summer breaks, teachers who had spent months or years confined together bid their final farewells with a palpable sense of relief, reports The New York Times. “There’s something about this place that makes everyone want to turn on each other,” said one teacher waiting for formal complaints to be brought against her.

Starting this fall, teachers who are awaiting review or reassignment for misconduct will stay at home or perform administrative tasks, instead of spending a strict 8am to 2:50pm workday in the equivalent of a holding pen. However, the city of New York will still be spending upwards of $30 million a year in salaries to the almost 700 city teachers who will remain banned from the classroom. Rubber rooms may be gone, but the problem of teachers stuck in limbo isn't going anywhere.

Photo credit: bennylin0724