Arbitrator Reinstates 75 DC Teachers Fired by Rhee

An arbitrator has ruled that former Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee improperly fired 75 new District of Columbia teachers in 2008 and is ordering them reinstated with two years of back pay.

Arbitrator Charles Feigenbaum found that the school system never told the teachers why they were being fired and gave them no chance to explain or refute what their principals reported to school system officials.

In the decision released Tuesday, he wrote that the process was "arbitrary and capricious."

Washington Teachers' Union President Nathan Saunders says mass firings without explanation are irresponsible and costly.

D.C. Public Schools spokesman Fred Lewis says officials are reviewing options to appeal or challenge the decision but have not decided how to proceed.