DALLAS — The largest teachers union in Dallas is taking off the gloves.

Some DISD teachers and their union leaders are saying they are tired of being the scapegoats of big business and state lawmakers.

They say it's time for teachers to take back the education system and oppose legislation aimed at closing low-perfoming schools.

The language being used by educators is as harsh, including phrases like: "Time bomb legislation," "absurd scapegoating of teachers" and "students who need to be accountable for their learning."

It's clear from listening to a group of angry teachers talk at a Friday morning news conference, their frustrations have hit a boiling point and now they say it's time to fire back.

Their number one target is state legislation passed three years ago that requires a school to be taken over by private company if it is declared academically deficient two years in a row.

Officials and teachers affiliated with the Alliance AFT came out firing Friday morning, saying they are sick of being bullied and targeted for termination by lawmakers who don't know what they are doing.

They say poor performance in the classroom goes beyond failing standardized tests, and it's time for the public to know what teachers have to endure in the classroom.

Mary Strickland is a math teacher who is being fired by DISD because her students have performed poorly for two straight years. "I personally have many students who come to me far below grade level, yet my paycheck is going to depend on a high stakes test at the ninth grade level — when most of my students are not anywhere near the ninth grade level," she said.

Strickland added that she lacks teaching supplies, parental support and administrative support. She and others who are afraid to speak out live in perpetual fear for their jobs.

E-mail bshipp@wfaa.com