When deciding which teachers go first during a layoff, many states take an approach better suited for a factory setting than schools.

A bill recently submitted by a Rhode Island parents' group, the East Side Public Education Coalition, is trying to rid the state's exceptionally friendly views on how seniority is factored into layoffs. The bill would allow teacher performance to factor into layoff decisions and enable teachers to be dismissed for not meeting performance standards.

Says Sam Zurier of the East Side parents' group, "It makes sense that if you are going to make a layoff decision you want to retain your best teachers. You don't want to make that decision solely on the basis of how many years of service that teacher has. You want an evaluation system that is fair."

Rhode Island isn't alone in its placement of seniority as the preponderant criteria shaping teacher layoff policies: 11 states, including New York, California and Texas, have similar laws.