Synopsis

The Rubber Room exposes how New York City wastes tens of millions a year warehousing hundreds of teachers who have been removed from the classroom, all while denying their right to due process. Accused of misconduct and incompetence, these teachers are forced to report to the "rubber room," a name that captures teachers’ desolate feeling of entrapment. Teachers spend weeks, months, even years in the rubber room, where they are not allowed to work but do collect their full salaries. A deeply disturbing exposé of how unions and government are colluding to squander huge sums of taxpayer dollars, this film depicts how the New York City education system has failed its children while blatantly disregarding the First Amendment.

Last spring, this film helped raise awareness about the rubber rooms—and New York has now promised to eliminate them. But will it? And what about Detroit, where rubber rooms are actually a feature of the new teachers’ contract? Or Los Angeles, which has turned teachers’ homes into private rubber rooms? What about your own city?